Pyramids in Giza - a visiting card of Egypt

Not far from Cairo there is a complex of ancient pyramids that can impress every tourist. The pyramids in Giza have a unique shape. They are devoted to many different literature, which can not always be attributed to the scientific or historical. Many authors of published books tried to pay attention to the digital proportions of these structures, trying to find in them some definite mystical meaning. A number of authors believe that these structures were erected by a civilization that came from Atlantis. However, there are no specific and reliable facts.

They are mentioned in a huge number of chronicles telling about the construction of these majestic structures. The greatest pyramid in Giza is the pyramid of Cheops. Its construction was carried out for 30 years, and, 10 years from this period, was spent on the construction of a road designed for lifting stone blocks. At the base of the building there is a square with a side of 227.5 meters. The height of the pyramid was 146.6 meters, but after several earthquakes it decreased by 9 meters due to the destruction of the upper stones.

The pyramid belonging to Cheops, like all pyramids in Giza, has four faces that are oriented to the four directions of the world. The angle of inclination is 51 ° 52 '. The entrance to it is located in the northern face. Inside there are three funerary chambers, among which there is a pharaoh's chamber, which is a room with a width of five and a length of eleven meters. The height of the room is about six meters. The walls of the tomb are made of granite slabs. There are no inscriptions or decorations. The sarcophagus itself is made of red granite. For today it is empty. It is assumed that the looting of the pyramid occurred in ancient times.

The second largest is the pyramid belonging to Pharaoh Khafre. It was built 40 years after the construction of the first pyramid in Giza was completed. The side of the base is 215 meters, and the height is 136 meters. The angle of its slope is slightly sharper than the pyramids of Cheops - 51 ° 8 '. The complex of buildings here can be seen more clearly: the temple in the valley, the road, the temple of the dead and the pyramid itself. There is a lower and upper temple. The first is known for the fact that the mummification of the pharaoh Khafre was made here. The upper church was built from the eastern part of the pyramid. In its form it resembles an elongated rectangle, the back of which is adjacent to the pyramid. Its internal part is divided into two parts. The first allowed all believers, but in the second - only the elite. The lower and upper temples connect a ramp, which is an indoor corridor, partially carved into a rock. Inside it is lined with limestone slabs, and the outer part - with granite. Its lighting is done through numerous openings in the ceiling.

The third, the most southerly, is the Pyramid of Mikerin. It is considered to be the latest of the three structures under consideration. The base has a side of only 108 meters, and its height is 66.5 meters. Inside, there is only one burial chamber carved into the rock.

The receivers of Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin also built themselves pyramids. Giza has about a hundred of them. They have much smaller dimensions, and are scattered randomly throughout the territory.

Another famous Egyptian monument (after the Cheops pyramid) is the figure of the Sphinx - a lying lion with a human head. Its length reaches 73 meters, and height - 20 meters. According to the legends, he guards the city of the dead. It is assumed that the figure of the Sphinx was cut in a limestone block during the construction of the Khafre pyramid.

After many millennia, the pyramids in Giza managed to survive in the desert sands. Till now it is the most grandiose archaeological complex of Egypt, which shows how powerful the rulers of the Ancient Kingdom were.