March 18, 2020 Finally, Pyramids!

We are not sure exactly how we will accomplish the planned megaday: pyramids, camel rides, the Egyptian museum, and more. But we do! And here is what we experienced…

En route to the highlight of the day, they, the pyramids, suddenly appear amidst congested traffic on the cityscape horizon. I had always imagined them to be far away in a desert landscape. Yes, and no.

This is more like what I had imagined. But looks are indeed decieving. 180 degrees from the scene above is an equally close congested neighborhood. Off to the other side, a golf course.

Left-most pyramid in photo above shows a rather flat top compared to others. Believed to have neen damaged in an ancient earthquake which also sank these structures by several meters.

Up close and personal, looking straight up the side of one of the great pyramids at Giza. There are 118 pyramids so far identified in Egypt, and some are indeed far out in the desert. These at Giza seem to be the focus of most of the archaeological attention.

Construction of one pyramid took about 20 years with men laying a slab of stone every 4 minutes 24/7. About 2.3 million blocks were used for each of these larger structures. Limestone and sandstone blocks formed the exterior, granite on the interior rooms, which were located about 67 meters below the surface. We were not allowed into the interior, which is said to be musty, hot, dank, and unadorned.

Close up of the first course of stone of one of the pyramids. Neither the stones nor the structure are smooth, although they appear so from afar. And each stone is set perfectly straight and level.

One of our group members stands in front of the bottom course of stone to give you a sense of scale. Mary Elizabeth is about 5’6″ tall.

A classic view of these grand structures. What a photo cannot describe is the ever present strong odor of camel dung. Nevertheless, we went for a fun camel ride around the pyramids.

Within the ark-shaped structure above is a boat taken from a nearby pyramid shaft in 1954 by Italian archaeologists. Boats are commonly found among the grave goods in these tombs, and are intended to help the pharoah sail to the afterlife. The boat measures 43 m long by 10 m high.

Adjacent each pyramid is a series of shafts which were incorporated into the landscape and contained the royal boat the deceasedwould use to sail to the afterlife.

The famous Sphinx. It is smaller than expected, but no less impressive. Believed to be the guardian of the pyramids, this monument of stone was entirely buried in sand until its discovery. Its nose has been damaged–broken off by a Saudi prince many years ago who objected to its religious significance–and not by Napoleon as is popularly believed. This according to our expert historian Tarek Sarhan.

Our guide urges us each to take a picture and poses us just so. But we do not understand why until we see the photo. Apparently, it is a kind of a tourist gag to have ones picture taken kissing the Sphinx.

After lunch we head to Cairo’s “old” museum. In October 2020 a new museum, The Grand Egyptian Museum, is scheduled to open. It will be the largest archaeological museum in the world, which cost “one hundred thousand and one hundred billion dollars” to build, according to the guide. Presumably this questionable number is in Egyptian dollars. Construction began 15 years ago. In addition to artifacts, it will house 19 restoration labs. The exterior will be covered entirely with carved alabaster and glass, affording a panoramic view of the pyramids.

The existing museum, the old museum, is straight out of an old movie, “Curse of the Mummy” perhaps. It is charmingly old, with ancient display cases, limited security, and if it ever had glitz, it is buried in museum dust. Hard to believe it holds the most valuable pieces of Egypt’s archaeological history, including treasures from King Tut’s tomb, for all of these years.

Early statues.

As we flew by the hundred thousand or so artifacts in this 2 1/2 hour tour, I took photos of things I found appealing, like this carved animal above.

The museum holds all of the everyday items of early Egyptians, including this toiletry basket which may have been the possession of a very privileged person. Other items not photographed include sewing kits, fishing gear, shaving kits, musical instruments, tools, nails, weight stones, weaving looms, pots and pans, and household cleaning tools.

Early toilet seat carved from limestone.

Earliest known painted panel in Egypt, or perhaps elsewhere, with beautiful original paint intact. Early paints were made from ground forms of copper, iron, and limestone, then mixed with egg albumen.

Text of this early papyrus gives the account of a husband’s complaint about his noisy wife. Presumably she talks too much. He is asking the gods to please replace her with a quieter wife in his afterlife.

Dusty crates of artifacts being readied for transport to the new museum. The old museum is being stripped of items and dismantled. Many of the display cases are empty.

Early Egyptians did not believe in death, but rather, in a rich afterlife. Above, one of four rooms removed from King Tut’s tomb. Each contained the goods the pharoah would need in his afterlife. Exterior of these rooms, as with many artifacts, is the purest form of gold. Scientists have no explanation for how early Egyptians were able to process such a pure form of gold–99.9 purity. Egypt is believed to be the first country known to purify and use gold.

Exterior of another room from Tut’s tomb.

Closeup of the second room from Tut’s tomb.

A single piece of carved alabaster forms this vessel containing original perfume.

Chess board from Tut’s tomb.

I was able to take this photograph before a guard scolded me. Ornament of pure gold from Tut’s tomb. I viewed many other gold and jeweled items including beads, intricately formed bracelets, rings, necklaces, and other ornaments.

Ceramic face masks found in ancient tombs; believed to depict the image of the deceased.

King Tut’s bed made of pure gold.

Detail of headboard of Tut’s bed.

Less impressive perhaps, but equally important is this wooden embalming bed on which Tut’s remains were preserved. Stains at the head and foot of the bed show where Tut’s head and feet resided during the long embalming ritual.

Miscellaneous grave goods.

Perhaps in his afterlife, Tut will ride this handsomely carved bull?

King Tut ruled from age 8 years to age 18 when he died of unknown causes. His tomb was one of the smallest, yet it contained over 3,000 artifacts. His death mask, which I viewed but was forbidden from photographing, weighs 22 pounds and is carved from pure gold.

The University of Japan is continuing archaeological work for its 55th year. Recently they discovered a secret shaft in the Cheops pyramid–one of the 3 iconic pyramids we are all familiar with. They dropped a camera down the shaft. It revealed a solid gold door. In the years hence we may hear about this new discovery, so stay tuned!