the pyramids

khufu

khafre

menkaure

the sphinx

khufu

King Khufu, who is also known by the greek name "Cheops," was the father of pyramid building at Giza. He ruled from 2589 - 2566 B.C. and was the son of King Sneferu and Queen Hetpeheres.

Dates Built: c. 2589-2566 B.C. Total Blocks of Stone: over 2,300,000 Base: 13 square acres, 568,500 square feet, or 7 city blocks. The length of each side of the base was originally 754 feet (230 m), but is now 745 feet (227 m) due to the loss of the outer casing stones. Total Weight: 6.5 million tons Average Weight of Individual Blocks of Stone: 2.5 tons, the large blocks used for the ceiling of the King's Chamber weigh as much as 9 tons. Height: Originally 481 feet (146.5 m) tall, but now only 449 feet (137 m). Angle of Incline: 51 degrees 50' 35" Construction Material: limestone, granite

cross section of khufu's pyramid

khafre

Khafre, who was the son of Khufu, was also known as Rakhaef or Chephren. He ruled from 2520 - 2494 B.C. and is responsible for the second largest pyramid complex at Giza, which includes the Sphinx, a Mortuary Temple, and a Valley Temple. The most distinctive feature of Khafre's Pyramid is the topmost layer of smooth stones that are the only remaining casing stones on a Giza Pyramid.

Because its apex is in better condition and it is located on an elevation (of about 10 meters), Khafre's sometimes appears to be the largest of the three great Pyramids of the Giza Plateau (as you can see in the picture above). However, originally it was some three meters lower than its neighboring pyramid belonging to Khafre's father, Khufu.  In fact, the walls of Khafre's pyramid are steeper than the Great Pyramid of Khufu (53o 10' as opposed to Khufu's 51o 40'), so it contains considerably less mass. It's name is "Khafre is Great".

Dates Built: c. 2558-2532 B.C. Total Blocks of Stone: Base: 704 feet (214.5 m) on each side covering a total area of 11 acres Total Weight: undetermined Average Weight of Individual Blocks of Stone: 2.5 tons, some of the outer casing blocks of stone weigh in at 7 tons Height: Originally 471 feet (143.5 m) tall, now 446 feet (136 m) tall Angle of Incline: 53 degrees 7' 48" Construction Material: Limestone and red granite

Khafre may be best known for his statues, and most famous among them is, of course, the Sphinx. Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass write of Khafre: "He was, after all, perhaps the greatest maker of statues of the Pyramid Age. There are emplacements in his pyramid temples for 58 statues, including four colossal sphinxes, each more than 26 feet long, two flanking each door of his Valley Temple; two colossal statues, possibly of baboons, in tall niches inside the entrances of the Valley Temple; 23 life-size statues of the pharaoh in the Valley Temple (fragments of several have been found with his name inscribed on them); at least seven large statues of him in the inner chambers of his Mortuary Temple; 12 colossal Khafre statues around the courtyard of his Mortuary Temple; and ten more huge statues in the Sphinx Temple."

menkaure

Menkaure, also known as Mycerinus, ruled from 2490 - 2472 B.C.. He was king of the smallest of the three pyramids at Giza, and is believed to be Khufu's grandson. Menkaure's pyramid, with its original height of some 65-66 meters, represents only about 1/10th of the mass we find in Khufu's pyramid.

Base: 344 feet (105 m) on each side Height: originally 215 feet (65.5 m), now 203 feet (62 m) Angle of Incline: 51 degrees 20' 25" Construction Material: Limestone and red granite, sarcophagus made of basalt

The steps down to the pyramid. I had to bend while climbing these steps becouse the hight of the desceding passage as you can see in the picture above is only 1.2m. And then after lots of steps I finally entered the chamber. It was really hot incide and crowded. But despite of that it was increadible experience in my life!!

The Three Queen's Pyramids Notable on the Giza Plateau are the three much smaller subsidiary that stand in a row along the south wall of the principal pyramid. Designated G 3a-c, archaeologist attribute them to Menkaure's royal consorts. Of these, only G 3a was a true pyramid, the other two having a four step core, and some Egyptologists believe that it functioned as a cult pyramid, though it was also clearly used for a burial. All three of these pyramids were surrounded by a common perimeter wall. Here it's me on one of the tree Queen's pyramids.

the sphinx

In a depression to the south of Chephren's pyramid sits a creature with a human head and a lion's body. The name 'sphinx' which means 'strangler' was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature which had the head of a woman and the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. The sphinx appears to have started in Egypt in the form of a sun god. The Egyptian sphinx is usually a head of a king wearing his headdress and the body of a lion . There are, however, sphinxes with ram heads that are associated with the god Amun.