The Smart Travel Guide

The builders of the pyramids were neither slaves nor foreigners, but by Egyptians who lived in villages developed and overseen by the pharaoh’s supervisors. The builders’ villages boasted bakers, butchers, brewers, granaries, houses, cemeteries, and probably even some sorts of health-care facilities—there is evidence of laborers surviving crushed or amputated limbs. Bakeries excavated near the Great Pyramids could have produced thousands of loaves of bread every week. One believes that about 20,000 to 30,000 workers built the Pyramids at Giza over 80 years. The pyramids of Egypt are the inheritance left by the pharaohs, a sign of complete power, together with the tombs, the place for their life after death.

The traces of graffiti on these constructions show that the workers called themselves “Friends of Khufu”, “Drunkards of Menkaure”. In order to achieve an accurate pyramid shape by running ropes from the outer corners up to the planned summit, architects made sure the stones were positioned correctly. Moreover, priests-astronomers were among those who helped choose the pyramids’ sites and orientations, to be in relation to sacred constellations. The death of the pharaoh was seen as an important process, a cycle like the rising and setting of the sun – when the pharaoh died he became Osiris, that is the king of the dead. Then he became Horus, god of the heavens and protector of the sun god. If the pharaoh’s body was not taken care of properly, then would not be able to carry out his new duties as king of the dead. In this case, the cycle would be destroyed and danger would befall Egypt. After his death and before being put in the tomb, the pharaoph was mummified, in order to preserve his body. Moreover, he was put inside the tomb together with gold, furniture and everything he might need during his afterlife, including doll-like representations of servants, called ushabti.

In order to guard the pharaoph together with his richness, there were built huge tombs, not necessarily pyramids. Before the pyramids, tombs were carved into bedrock and topped by flat-roofed structures called mastabas. Mounds of dirt, in turn, sometimes topped the structures. Pharaoh Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara began as a traditional, flat-roofed mastaba. But by the end of his 19-year reign, in 2611 B.C., it had risen to six stepped layers and stood 204 feet (62 meters) high. It was the largest building of its time. Extensive use of stone—here and there carved to resemble wood, reeds, or other softer materials—made the tomb more durable than its mud-brick forebears. Such pioneering techniques led many ancient historians to credit the chief architect, Imhotep, with inventing stone architecture. The Step Pyramid complex was enclosed by a 30-foot (10-meter) wall and included courtyards, temples, and chapels covering nearly 40 acres (16 hectares)—the size of a large town in the third millennium B.C.

Before setting off, here is some information that might prove useful:
The Giza pyramids Plateau opens at 08:00 Am and closes at 1700
Winter times are ( 8:00 — 16:30).
Ramdan times are ( 8:00 –15:00)
Entrance ticket to the site cost – 60. LE
Entrance to the Solar Boat Museum – 40LE
Entrance to Khufu’s Pyramid – 100LE
Entrance to Khafree’s Pyramid – 20LE

Tags: Egypt, Pyramids, stones, ticket

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