[DAC] Pyramids, Sphinx & Temples

Wed Mar 12 06:09:27 EDT 2008

Everyone it seems, knows of Egypt's ancient monuments, even my 7 year  
old friend Anna in Fairfax, Virginia, whom I helped to care for in  
her first weeks after coming into this world. She proudly informed me  
that Egypt has very ancient monuments.

Awesome monuments that take your breath away to look upon them, and  
take the mind away to ponder on their origins,like the pyramids on  
the Giza plateau, just outside of Cairo.

On clear days I can actually see the pyramids from my windows on the  
14th floor of my apartment in Cairo, and at sunset the sky is orange,  
pink and gold, and the land is smoky gray blue.

There was a recent story in the local paper that a professor had  
forwarded a theory that the two large pyramid with the sunset in  
between was actually a hieroglyphic sign for the merging of Pharaoh  
with the sun, so he surmises that the two largest pyramids were  
planned at the same time.

There has been much speculation on the function and nature of  
pyramids, but Egyptologists agree that they were tombs for the mortal  
remains of the family of the Pharaohs.

The largest pyramid was build by Cheops, or Khufu and the next  
largest by his son, Chephren, or Khafre, but they both seem about the  
same size, which is a visual illusion because it stands on a higher  
elevation, and some of the limestone casing on the peak is still  
present.

On this visit the large pyramid of the father Khufu was closed, but  
we were able to go into the second largest of the son, Khafre.

You would expect the air to be cooler descending into the pyramid,  
but in fact the opposite situation occurs.  Climbing under so much  
rock, one has to exercise self-control as the heat and the feeling of  
claustrophobia increases. Most people try to rush, anxious to put an  
end to the discomforting sensations, which causes them more distress  
because they have to breathe harder and this panics the mind, which  
causes hyperventilation. They come rushing from the cramped space,  
sweating and breathing hard. It's enough to scare the faint-hearted  
waiting to enter.

There is intermittent lighting on the floor against the wall so it  
also takes time to adjust to the dim light, especially after coming  
from outside where the sun brightly reflects on the desert sands.

I have climbed down into the largest (Khufu's) when I was in Egypt  
some years ago. At the time I remarked to my husband that I am glad  
that we did this before we were too old. It is a steep,  
claustrophobic and backbreaking climb, bent over at the waist because  
the passage is only hip-high, and there are no steps, only a steep  
wooden ramp laid over the stone with metal bars that interrupted the  
smoothness at the width of steps.

I find it much more advantageous to descend slowly, breathing only  
through the nostrils to maximize the oxygen and calm my mind. Being  
bent over also decreases the amount of air that the lungs can absorb,  
adding to the feeling of panic. On both visits I thought that there  
should be some instructions to enable the visitors to have a more  
positive experience, and prevent the risks of heart attacks or panic  
attacks.

There is an interruption in the backbreaking climb where you can  
actually stand upright with space above your head.

 From here, there is another low passage leading down to the right  
that is barred off.
Then it's another backbending climb this time on a ramp that slopes  
up further into the pyramid.

The large pyramid I have been in before had a much longer climb, so I  
am surprised when I reach the end.

The upward ramp opens into a spacious room, but there is still the  
constant sensation of so much rock. It is astonishing to see how  
cleverly built this space is to withstand the enormous pressure of  
thousands of tons of rock. How did they manage this? In an age  
without cranes, bulldozers, laser rock cutters, even a T square! I  
have seen more of the tools in the Egyptian museum in Cairo, and  
cannot imagine the ingenious minds that created so much with so  
little. I am always telling my students that you can do anything with  
the right tools and instruction. I have to revise that to say that  
you can do anything the mind can conceive.

I have the utmost respect for the ancient Egyptians.

At the other end of the cavern is a stone sarcaphagus, but I am not  
aware that there was a body found here. The knee high depth seems  
very different than the more than chest high sarcophagus that usually  
contain mummified bodies.

It's much easier to breathe here even though the air feels thick, and  
the spaciousness of the cavern helps the mind to not dwell on the  
idea that there are thousands of tons of rock above your head.

The sphinx, human head and feline body is another monumental  
sculpture on the Giza plains.

Sitting - or reclining, in front of the pyramid of Khufu the sphinx  
gazes calmly over the city of Cairo,

Much speculation about the manner of construction and purpose of the  
sphinx has been continuing for thousands of years. My Egyptian friend  
tells me that Napoleon broke off the nose when he tried to kill it,  
as he thought it was speaking to him. Another person spoken to in the  
past by the Sphinx became Pharaoh, promised the position for clearing  
the sands that covered it, him, her?

In the modern age the sphinx was again buried to the neck in sands  
and clearing the sands revealed what are described by Egyptologists  
as "mortuary temples"  where we are told, bodies were prepared and  
mummified.

The depressions are assumed to have contained statues lining the wall.

Peddlers line the walkway to the area of the sphinx.

Off the road between the pyramid and sphinx, a sarcophagus sits. It  
is lit from inside by a light and the stone cover is propped up by  
rocks. Hieroglyphs on the wall of this temple/tomb reveals this as  
the burial place of the chief physician of Pharaoh, or so we are told  
by the guard.

We came upon this when I saw two Egyptian women clambering down into  
what seems to me a hole, so my companions followed to see what was  
there.

I had walked into this space seeking respite from the intensity of  
the sun but also curious to see what it contained.
The hole into the room with the sarcophagus is on the right of the  
entrance, and the door to the left may have been an entry into this  
alter room ...

which is on the upper level on the opposite side of the entrance  
accessed off the main passageway. The guard tells us that was an  
alter for offering food, animals and humans?  He probably sought to  
impress the "tourists."
The room is lit by the light on the alter. and there are low  
platforms, at the right height for sitting or sleeping?

The plains of Giza contains the remains of crumbling pyramids,  
ancient tombs and temples and a new museum that houses an astonishing  
ancient and large boat complete with oars, a wooden structure, ropes  
etc. that was found buried in the sands near the large pyramid of Khufu.

Who knows what else lies under the sands of the Sahara?

I feel like a child again, looking up at the night time sky and  
overwhelmed by being a tiny speck in the vast cosmos. Today I am awed  
by the realization of being only the tiniest speck of life on the  
continuum of time and history.

Love,
Lucilda

Visit my website: www.Lucilda.com

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