urn to this land in northeast Africa (Yes, we all forget that from time to time)Countless movies (fact and fiction) have used the pyramids as their backdrop and setting, whether history supports it or not. Some of the most famous miscues revolve around the Exodus narrative; you remember, Yul Brynner and Charleton Heston with
Edward G. Robinson in a supporting role. Were Ancient Israelites involved in the building of the Giza Complex? Without a doubt, no. Regardless of what then Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin thought and said in 1979, the Giza Complex belongs to an era that we can call "The Age of the Pyramid Builders"- the period we commonly refer to as the Old Kingdom. 
Giza itself dates to the IVth Dynasty, @ 2450 BCE. To place this all in context, the Patriarchal Narrative of events relating to Joseph's captivity and the first indications of Semitic tribespeople in Egypt date to @2000. The Exodus Narrative itself belongs to the New Kingdom of Ramses and Merenptah, @ 13th-12th Centuries BCE. So, once again, Hollywood weaves a wonderful tale, but......
Where to begin? How about the enormity of these 4500 year old structures, the largest solid structures built by humans. On occasion during the winter, a fine mist or fog envelops the Giza Plateau early in the morning- burning off by 9 am. As you walk through it, the world has shrunk to only a few feet surrounding you. Suddenly, rising endlessly above you, so high that you can't even see its peak, is the Great Pyramid.
This pyramid, of Cheops, contains over 2.3 million blocks of stone that weigh in at close to 6 million ton. It originally rose 146 m. into the air and covered an area 230 m/ side, or about 3 acres. And you thought that the Mall of America was big! Each course rising above you is about 3-4 ft high, creating hundreds of "steps" as it ascends. On this pyramid, the smooth outer casing is long gone- a victim of Cairo's urban renewal that took place during the rule of Sultan Hassan in the 14th Century. As he looked out from the Citadel, west to Giza, he saw the pyramid complex rising from the desert. For us, we are in awe o
f these magnificent pieces of architecture. For him, all he saw was "cut stone" with no need to quarry. He had his army and engineers strip the first pyramid of its limestone casing, and 3/4 of the second's, as he built his monumental mosque. The reason that the second pyramid of Chephren still has some casing at the top is because Sultan Hassan's Mosque was completed- without needing the blocks.For centuries, these monumental tributes to the glory of ancient Egypt were wide open to the public; any daring soul could not only ascend within the structures, but also ascend the exterior of the Great Pyramid as well.
Awakening before sunrise, one would get out to Giza, bribe the local tourist police with a few pounds, and climb to catch the sun. The northeast corner proved to be the easiest, although it is not for the faint-hearted. Slow, difficult....... but ultimately awe-inspiring. But today, not even the fanciest of bribes will allow you to climb the outside. Recent tragedies have forced an end to all that.But the inner climb is just as incredible a journey. For centuries, anyone could enter into all three pyramids at their heart's content. However, we human beings have failings-- we breathe, we sweat... and as a result, we modify the interior environment of the pyramids themselves. Temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide emissions all threaten the integrity of these monuments. So the Supreme Council of Antiquities now rotates access to the pyramids, keeping at least one closed at all times. This allows them to "dry out" and purify the air inside, slowing the deterioration process. Which pyramid will we enter in 2009? I have no idea. But in 2008, it was the second pyramid, that of Chephren, that we were able to access.
Climbing inside a pyramid is not for the faint-hearted, or claustrophobic. Initial passages are 4 ft wide and 3 ft high, or roughly 1 course of block. The air is close, almost stifling, with the physical and psychic vestiges of millions of millions of fellow explorers spanning centuries. You find yourself working up a sweat even though, outside, the temp is in the mid 60s. The trapped air becomes its own climate zone, constant and rather oppressive.
The 2008 journey took us into the second pyramid, that of Chephren. No matter how many millenia may pass, and how culturally removed we are...... people are people! Case in point is Cheops' son, Chephren. He loved and respected his father, and explicitly instruced his engineers and architects to construct his pyramid smaller than that of his father. 
HOWEVER, he also had it strategically placed on the Giza Plateau so that, from a distance, it appeared taller, larger, than that of his father! So, when he finally "crossed over" to the Goodly West and met dear old dad, he could honestly say that he respected his father's status and honor!
HOWEVER, he also had it strategically placed on the Giza Plateau so that, from a distance, it appeared taller, larger, than that of his father! So, when he finally "crossed over" to the Goodly West and met dear old dad, he could honestly say that he respected his father's status and honor!The final "box score" is as follows:
Cheops ---------- Chephren
146 m ht ---------- 143 m ht
230 m/side -------- 214 m/side
As you descend into the heart of the pyramid, you are amazed at the elegant simplicity of the construction. Dry wall masonry means that no mortar is used, and the blocks are cut so precisely that you can't even slip a piece of paper in between, even after 4450 years! The next thing that you note, is the lack of any ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics- the tombs were empty of insc
riptions.
riptions.
You come to the King's Chamber, and are struck by the quiet, the solitude. Inside is a plain, simple quartzite sarcophagus- final resting place of the king. But nobody's home. And then you notice- the Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni left his mark for all to see and remember!
Next door, at the base of the Great Pyramid, is yet another aspect 
of the wonderful Giza Plateau- the Solar Boat of Cheops. The journey to the Goodly West, the land of the dead, was a journey across the Nile by boat. This boat was to be used only once by the pharoah, then dismantled and stored- only to be recreated in the next world. In 1954, one such boat was discovered in a pit at the base of the pyramid. The limestone vault was so perfectly sealed that the archaeologists were bowled over by the smell of 4500 year old cedarwood. The boat itself was preserved as if buried yesterday! 
After 13 years of meticulous reconstruction, it was finished, and almost as good as new. Measuring 46 m long, it is no less an engineering feat than the pyramids themselves. Beautifully preserved 6m long oars, captain's cabin, even rope, are 
housed in a museum built above the pit. The sad part about this great discovery is that, according to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in spite of all precautions, the boat has deteriorated more in the last 40 years than in the first 4500!
of the wonderful Giza Plateau- the Solar Boat of Cheops. The journey to the Goodly West, the land of the dead, was a journey across the Nile by boat. This boat was to be used only once by the pharoah, then dismantled and stored- only to be recreated in the next world. In 1954, one such boat was discovered in a pit at the base of the pyramid. The limestone vault was so perfectly sealed that the archaeologists were bowled over by the smell of 4500 year old cedarwood. The boat itself was preserved as if buried yesterday! 
After 13 years of meticulous reconstruction, it was finished, and almost as good as new. Measuring 46 m long, it is no less an engineering feat than the pyramids themselves. Beautifully preserved 6m long oars, captain's cabin, even rope, are 
housed in a museum built above the pit. The sad part about this great discovery is that, according to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in spite of all precautions, the boat has deteriorated more in the last 40 years than in the first 4500! A second boat was discovered in 1988. However, this time a probe was sent in to video it; with the hole re-sealed up. Today there is talk of excavating this boat as well. I certainly hope not. Although archaeology is a "deconstructive" business, if you can glean knowledge without disrupting the past, all the better.
From here, we move on to the great enigma, the Sphinx. Called Abu'l hawl, The terrible one in Arabic, it is 500 m. from Chephren's pyramid. The word, Sphinx, comes from the Greek derivation of the ancient Egyptian words, Sheps Ankh, "living image". It is carved out of the limestone bedrock of the Giza Plateau- 6o m long and 20 m high. 
The various myths and tales about this enormous sculpture are to numerous to tell. But one is of note. As early as 1822, when the British pilgrim/explorer David Roberts made his way to Giza, the rumor about the Sphinx's nose being shot off by the French army was circulating back then. However, its just a myth.... after all, when did the French Army actually ever hit anything it was deliberately aiming at?! In addition, its beard also had fallen off. But we do know where that is.... the BRITISH MUSEUM, send there by Caviglia in 1816 (and they won't give it back!) .
I come from a line of travelers. My father, while in the US Army during WW II, was stationed in North Africa. For RnR, the soldiers got passes to Cairo, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Casablanca- just to name a few spots. Here he is in 1944. (He's on the far right)
So, how about lunch? Hungry yet? Would you like a view as well? How about in front of the Pyramids!!!!!
Next....Sakkara
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