View allAll Photos Tagged Pyramids
the earliest pyramid in the world always looked a little crooked to me. when i pointed that out to the local guides who hung around the complex, they insisted that it just looked that way from the angle.
ca. 1915-1918 1915
Shows unidentified pyramid (possibly at Giza)
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The pyramid at Meidum is believed to be Egypt's second oldest (after the step-pyramid of Djoser, whose design Meidum followed to some degree) but is also the earliest attempt at a true pyramid with four smooth side elevations.
Its original builder is usually considered to be Huni, last pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty, but most likely the larger part was constructed under the reign of his successor Sneferu (who also built two major pyramids at Dashur much further north).
The building we see today looks as much like a massive tower as a pyramid; which is due to the ancient collapse of much of the outer structure after the design was modified from a step-pyramid form (like its predecessor at Saqqara) to a smooth-sided one. The extra weight of the additional outer casing was too much and the pyramid was reduced to the present tower of masonry rising from a mass of debris.
There are several internal passages on different levels that lead to the relatively small burial chamber, beginning with a steep descent from the northern face. The ceiling of the chamber is remarkable for its tapering form, corbelled inwards as it rises in the manner of the better known but later grand gallery of the great pyramid of Khufu.
Near the pyramid are several large mudbrick mastaba tombs of a similar age, one of which is accessible by a series of narrow tunnels and passages that only the more intrepid traveller should attempt.
For more on this remarkable site see below:-
The Pyramid of Djoser (or Zoser), or step pyramid (kbhw-ntrw in Egyptian) is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built during the 27th century BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by Imhotep, his vizier. It is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
Port Said Egypt has been the “gateway to the East” for ocean liner passengers since the opening of Suez Canal
Situated where the marshes of the Nile Delta meet the sands of the Sinai Peninsula, the city has a history stretching back to Pharaonic times. Today Port Said is a popular resort destination for Egyptians, who prize its many duty-free stores and boutiques. Port Said is your gateway to Cairo, the Nile Valley and the mysteries of ancient Egypt. Outside Cairo stand the famed pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. The Great Pyramids of Cheops, completed circa 2500BC was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World and the only one of those ancient landmarks to survived today.
Ancient temples, eerily lifelike statues and graceful wall paintings millennia-old: the wonders of ancient Egypt possess a haunting quality. The royal treasure of Tutankhamen displayed in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, are alone worth a trip to Egypt.
The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico after the Pyramid of the Sun. It is located in the western part of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo, just north of the site. Some have called it Tenan, which in Nahuatl, means "mother or protective stone." The Pyramid of the Moon covers a structure older than the Pyramid of the Sun which existed prior to 200 AD.
The Pyramid's construction between 200 and 450 AD completed the bilateral symmetry of the temple complex. A slope in front of the staircase gives access to the Avenue of the Dead, a platform atop the pyramid was used to conduct ceremonies in honor of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, the goddess of water, fertility, the earth, and even creation itself. This platform and the sculpture found at the pyramid's bottom are thus dedicated to The Great Goddess.
Opposite the Great Goddess's altar is the Plaza of the Moon. The Plaza contains a central altar and an original construction with internal divisions, consisting of four rectangular and diagonal bodies that formed what is known as the "Teotihuacan Cross."
Vista de les tres piràmides de Gizeh, a el Caire.
La necròpolis de Gizeh es troba a l'altiplà de Gizeh, a les rodalies del Caire, a Egipte. En aquesta necròpoli de l'antic Egipte es van erigir la piràmide de Kheops, també coneguda com la Gran Piràmide, la piràmide de Kefren i la relativament petita piràmide de Micerí, junt amb diverses piràmides subsidiàries menors, temples funeraris i la Gran Esfinx.
De les tres piràmides principals es conserva el seu nucli, conformat per blocs de pedra calcària, però del seu revestiment, de calcària polida o granit rosat, sols en queden algunes restes, ja que aquests blocs van ser utilitzats per construir edificis a la propera ciutat del Caire. La piràmide de Kefren sembla la més alta, però és a causa que va ser construïda sobre una zona més elevada a l'altiplà de Gizeh; en realitat és la de Kheops la de major altura i volum.
La necròpolis de Gizeh és la més gran de l'Antic Egipte, amb enterraments datats des de les primeres dinasties. A finals de l'Imperi Antic, durant la sisena Dinastia havia a Gizeh uns quants centenars de tombes. El seu esplendor el va assolir durant la quarta dinastia, quan es van erigir la piràmide d'Jufu (Kheops), la piràmide de Jafra (Kefren) i la relativament petita piràmide de Menkaura (Micerí), junt amb diverses subsidiàries menors, temples funeraris, temples de la vall, embarcadors, calçades processionals i es van excavar fosses contenint barques solars cerimonials. També es va esculpir a la roca de l'altiplà la Gran Esfinx. Associats a aquests monuments reals es troben nombroses mastabes de membres de la família reial, altres concedides pel faraó a funcionaris i sacerdots, i alguns monuments d'èpoques posteriors relacionats amb el culte als avantpassats.
La Gran Piràmide estava considerada en l'antiguitat un de les Set meravelles del món, i és l'única de les set que fins i tot perdura. El 1979, el conjunt de Menfis amb les seves necròpolis i piràmides (Gizeh, Abusir al-Melek, Saqqara i Dashur) va ser declarat Patrimoni de la Humanitat per la Unesco, amb el nom de Menfis i la seva necròpolis, la zona de les piràmides des Gizeh fins Dahshur. Està catalogada com un patrimoni de tipus cultural.[1]
Statue on the Göta Älv (Gota River) in Gothenburg, Sweden. That's a bouquet of flowers with a flat top that he's holding in his hand.
What better place to spend our final few hours in Egypt than the Giza plateau, this time exploring the site by foot and visiting mastaba tombs (there are many here but only a couple can be visited) and Menkaure's pyramid, the only one of the three large pyramids we'd not entered before (the two largest we'd been inside on our first visit in 1995, this time queues for the Great Pyramid of Khufu were discouraging, and Khafre's was closed).
The Giza Pyramids need no introduction, the largest and most famous monuments of antiquity and the sole surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.
Situated on a desert plateau to the south west of Cairo (and indeed on the very edge of the city's modern urban sprawl) the pyramids of Giza form the heart of an extensive ancient necropolis with the monumental tombs of three of Egypt's earliest Old Kingdom pharaohs marked by the vast structures. Each of the pyramids is a colossal mass of near solid masonry, without adornment and with only a few passages within each leading to burial chambers long since emptied and robbed in antiquity.
The earliest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu (sometimes referred to by the Greek title 'Cheops', or by his full pharaonic name 'Khnum-Khufu'). It is also the largest; the structure is simply enormous and remained the World's tallest building until well into the Middle Ages.
The following pyramid was built by Khafre (also called 'Khephren') and is similarly vast (often appearing in photos of the whole group as larger due to its more central position) but is significantly smaller than Khufu's monument. The smallest of the three (at around less than half the size) was built by his successor Menkaure. Both his and Khufu's monuments have much smaller satellite pyramids at their base (some in more ruinous condition) to house the tombs of their queens.
Originally all the pyramids had a smooth outer covering of white stone but this was quarried away by later generations (much of which was used for some of Cairo's greatest Islamic monuments) leaving the rough inner blocks exposed. A small section remains at the apex of Khafre's pyramid (suggestive of a snow-capped mountain) to give a sense of the original finish and overall mass.
Today the site remains the most popular in Egypt and an astonishing testament to the skill and determination of its earliest builders.
Cairo trip by air from Sharm / Excursion Cairo by plane / one day trip Cairo
We run this tour On Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
Pick up from your hotel in Sharm
We will Come to Pick you up for day trip Cairo by air early in the morning at 04.30 a.m. (Estimated time ), by A/C VAN to Sharm Airport , then you will fly to Cairo
Meet & assist In Cairo
Our English speaking guide will meet you outside the arrival hall of Cairo airport holding the Sgin of Aqua Blue Sharm
The English speaking guide will join you during your Cairo day excursion.
Visiting the Egyptain Muesum in Cairo:
You will Start you Cairo excursion day by visiting the National Egyptian (the place which contains the most of the antiquities from early Pharaoh's period till the 30th dynasty (you will find inside this museum Old kingdom antiquities , middle kingdom antiquities , New kingdom treasures, the National Egyptian museum huges between it's walls the Golden tomb treasure of small-age Pharaoh Tut Anch Amun . you can visit the mummy hall (optional 100 l.e. per person)
Nile Cruise Motor boat
Then you will have a sailling or a motor boat for a short tour along the river, you will be able to see the Cairo siteseeghings of hotels, crowded roads, Cairo tower just by quick look by your eye while you enjoy sailing in rhe Great river.
Lunch Time
After Cairo boat sailling you will enjoy lunch in Hard Rock Cafe in Cairo (Drinks excluded)
Cairo Shopping
After Hard Rock lunch , it will be a chance to relax your mind, and swich it off for a while , now you can enjoy shopping or just to have a karkadee welcome drink in the shop.
Because soon you requisted to be ready for the information flood about Pyramids and Sphinx , given by our English speaking guide.
Visiting the Pyramids & Sphinx area
In the second half of Cairo day tour, you will visit one of the seven wonders of the ancient world,(the great pyramids), you will visit the great Pyramid of Cheops , follow by Pyramid of Chephren, and also the Pyramid of Mycerinus ,Enjoy the amazing photes from the highest point of the area, kiss the Sphinx in your pictures or even huge the Pyramids.
Transfer To Cairo Airport
In the end of you excursion cairo day, our guide will join you to Cairo airport
Fly Cairo-Sharm El-Sheikh
You will join the flight from Cairo To Sharm El-Sheikh in the evining (20.00 Estimeted Time) for one hour
Meet & assist in Sharm El-Sheikh
Upon your arrival to Sharm, you will find our representative welcome you back by sign Aqua Blue Sharm
Cairo Trip by air include:
* Transfer Hotel-airport in Sharm El-Sheikh by A/C Van
* Flight tickets Sharm-cairo-Sharm
* English speaking guide
* Entrance Fees of national Egyptian museum
* Entrance fees of Giza Pyramids & Sphinx area
* Nile river sailling or Motor baot 30 minutes
* Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe
* One bottel of water in Van during Cairo Excursion.
* Soft drenks (Cola) in the Car during Cairo Ecursion.
* Transfer Airport-hotel in Sharm El-sheikh
Cairo Trip by air Exclude:
* Drinks In restuarant in Cairo
* Mummy hall in the Museum
* fees inside one of the Pyramids
* Any extra personal expenses
Recommended to take
Passport with a vaild Visa (Check with our rep.)
Breakfast box to be boooked from you hotel
* Cairo excursion day Cost adult 135 GBP
* Cairo excursion day cost Child 120 GBP
It is believed the Great Pyramid of Giza (left) was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and was constructed over a 20 year period. Khufu's vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid. It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall, 146.5 metres (480.6 ft) but with erosion and absence of its pyramidion, its present height is 138.8 metres (455.4 ft). Each base side was 440 cubits, 230.4 metres (755.9 ft) long. A royal cubit measures 0.524 metres. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres. Based on these estimates, building this in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day. Similarly, since it consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks, completing the building in 20 years would involve moving an average of more than 12 of the blocks into place each hour, day and night. The first precision measurements of the pyramid were made by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published as The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. Almost all reports are based on his measurements. Many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid were fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the north eastern casing stones, the mean opening of the joints is only 0.5 millimetres wide (1/50th of an inch).
The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, unsurpassed until the 160-metre-tall spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300. The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length. The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm. The sides of the square base are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass points (within 4 minutes of arc) based on true north, not magnetic north, and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12 seconds of arc. The completed design dimensions, as suggested by Petrie's survey and subsequent studies, are estimated to have originally been 280 cubits high by 440 cubits long at each of the four sides of its base. The ratio of the perimeter to height of 1760/280 cubits equates to 2π to an accuracy of better than 0.05% (corresponding to the well-known approximation of π as 22/7). Some Egyptologists consider this to have been the result of deliberate design proportion. Verner wrote, "We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of π, in practice they used it". Petrie, author of Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh concluded: "but these relations of areas and of circular ratio are so systematic that we should grant that they were in the builder's design". Others have argued that the Ancient Egyptians had no concept of pi and would not have thought to encode it in their monuments. They believe that the observed pyramid slope may be based on a simple seked slope choice alone, with no regard to the overall size and proportions of the finished building.
This image was scanned from a photograph in an album dating from World War 2. It was taken during the North African campaign.
The album was purchased from an op shop by one of our members and is held in the Sir Edgeworth David Memorial Museum. Unfortunately, we do not know who took the photos, or who owned the album, so if you have any information about this, please contact us.
The original photo was taken prior to 1955 and so is out of copyright. You are free to use it, but we would appreciate your acknowledging our efforts in the attribution.
If you have any information about this photograph, please contact us.
The earliest pyramid was the Step Pyramid of king Djoser of the Old Kingdom's 3rd Dynasty over 4,600 years ago. The pyramid was the largest structure ever erected at Saqqara, the necropolis that overlooked the ancient capital of Memphis. Its construction was initially in the form of a low mastaba tomb upon which extra levels were gradually added to give it a step-like appearance.
Underneath Djoser's pyramid was a complex system of corridors with a burial chamber lined with Aswan pink granite about 28 metres underground. The entrance was sealed with a three-tonne granite plug. The pyramid's outside would have been cased with fine limestone, but this was removed long ago. Nearby were the Mortuary Temple, a Great Court and various other structures.
If you like this, You can check my Most Interesting Photos according to Flickr.
The ancient necropolis of Dahshur is renowned for two of the oldest and best preserved pyramids in Egypt, both built by pharaoh Sneferu of the 4th Dynasty, c2600BC.
It is here at Dahshur that the familar form of the straight-sided pyramid was first refined, the earliest being the step pyramid of King Djoser at nearby Saqqara (part of the same necropolis and visible from here). A second pyramid at Meidum (much further south) initially followed this same stepped form, but was modified by filling in the steps to give a smooth diagonal surface, the weight of which proved too great a burden for the structure and large parts collapsed. Meidum pyramid was believed to have been started by pharaoh Huni, but continued by his successor Sneferu, who after this ill fated venture turned his attention to a new site at Dahshur.
The first pyramid here is known as the Bent Pyramid owing to the dramatic change of angle halfway up it, which is the result of the building being started at too steep a gradient, and with growing structural instability as work progressed and mindful of the collapse at Meidum the decision was made to lower the angle for the upper parts giving this pyramid its unique form. Behind it is a small satellite pyramid (in a more ruinous condition) probably intended for Sneferu's queen.
Sneferu then learned from these mistakes and built a second pyramid nearby sloping at a much lower (and structurally safer) angle. It is not only the first complete smooth-sided pyramid but also the third largest in Egypt (after those of Khufu and Khafre at Giza). The name 'Red Pyramid' refers to the exposed sandstone of the massive structure, which originally would have been covered by a smooth white facing stone which was quarried away in early medieval times. Whilst the Red Pyramid is now externally denuded, much of this facing however still remains on the nearby Bent Pyramid, and no other Egyptian pyramid retains so much of its original outer surface.
The Red Pyramid is believed to have been Sneferu's final resting place but the tomb itself was robbed out in antiquity. Visitors may enter the sequence of corridors and rooms that lead to the burial chamber, and admire the dramatically tapering corbelled ceilings within. The interior of the Bent Pyramid is off limits to visitors, beings more difficult to access with a complex internal layout.
There are further pyramids surrounding the Dahshur necropolis, all later, smaller scale structures from the Middle Kingdom that are now far more ruinous and look as much like mounds or natural outcrops. The most notable and prominent is the Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III, of which only the heavily eroded mass of the mud-brick core remains, looking more like a natural rock-formation, Like Sneferu, Amemenhet III was also dissatisfied with his first pyramid and frustrated by structural problems, so built a larger second one much further south at Hawara for his final repose.
Dahshur's pyramids were for many years off limits to tourists owing to their proximity to a military zone, and on our previous visit to Egypt we could only gaze at their tantalising distant silhouettes from nearby Saqqara. Now the site is happily accessible again, and whilst only the Red Pyramid may be entered to be finally able to get so close to these awesome structures is more than enough reward.