Pyramids

(Baden's 1999 Mediterranean Jaunt / Overview)

Fuji Superia 400 / Pentax ESPIO 90MC (1999-11-29 ~10:30)
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There you have it, my photo! The Giza pyramids were incredibly awe inspiring. When I first was arriving in Cairo the day before in the early morning, at about 08:00, there was a smog blanket covering the whole city, and only the pyramid peaks were visible, Before I could take a photo, the plane turned left, and the surreal view disappeared. Afterwards, my taxi took me to my hotel, which was very close to the pyramids. We could also see them at night from the hotel, and they looked spectacular bathed in artificial light. I guess sandstone does look good under lights, but I don't know if the original architects had it intended it to be.

Early in the morning, we visited the pyramid site, and I was able to go inside the first pyramid on the left, Khufu, and I even laid in the empty sarcophagus. The whole interior was incredibly impressive and massive. The three pyramids were constructed from left to right (east to west) about 4500 years ago by three successive kings. Khufu, the tallest, Khafre, and Mazghunah. The middle pyramid, Khafre, still has limestone facing on it near the top, which surely must have been most impressive when the whole structure was similarly covered. King Khafre also built the Sphinx, which was connected to his pyramid by a stone causeway.

This photo was taken a little farther out in the desert, at an unobstructed viewpoint. The city, and the Sphinx, was directly behind the pyramids, but was obscured by smog.

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