On the western bank of the Nile, about 6.5 miles south-west of Cairo are the greatest monuments of the Old Kingdom: the Pyramids of Giza. That of Khufu has the distinction of being the largest single building ever constructed. The Solar Boat has been reassembled in a special museum on the southern flank of the pyramid (not yet open to the public). The pyramid of Khafre, the second pyramid, is the most complete example of a royal tomb complex in the Egyptian Old Kingdom. It comprises the pyramid itself, its mortuary temple and a causeway of white limestone connecting it to a valley temple, sometimes known as the Granite Temple. Nearby is the Sphinx, the huge figure of a recumbent lion with human head which is believed to have been carved in the features of the pharaoh Khafre. Its total length is 240 feet and between its paws is a huge red granite stele narrating the dream of the pharaoh Thutmose IV (18th dynasty) who, whilst resting in the shadow of the Sphinx after a hunting expedition, heard the voice of his ‘father’ the Sun-god, ordering him to deliver him from the suffocating desert sands. The Sun-god demanding release from the sand was the Sphinx itself which, by the New Kingdom, was understood to be a combination of the Sun-gods Ra-Atum- Keper-Harakhte.
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| Giza Egypt |
Abu Sir
The Egyptian pyramids of Abu Sir are almost completely in ruin. However, the splendid reliefs which adorn the funerary temple of the 5th dynasty pharaoh Sahure include the first surviving representation of seagoing ships. There are also fine sculptured reliefs of various aspects of rural life throughout the agricultural year as well as hunting scenes depicting the pharaoh accompanied by dogs pursuing antelope, gazelle, deer and other smart animals.
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| Abu Sir |
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