EGYPT 98-The Great Pyramids of Giza (First Visit)

In the late afternoon, we were driven back to Cairo to see the Great Pyramids of Giza. The Great Pyramids and the Great Sphinx are probably the most well known structures in the world. It is located some 8 km inland into the desert near the town of Giza on the Nile and some 25 km southwest of Cairo city centre. From looking at photos of the pyramids most people would have thought that they are in the middle of the desert and not well accessible. In actual fact they are within walking distance from the town of Giza and bordered by modern structures on one side.

From left to right, the Pyramid of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. Most photographs show Khafre to be higher than Khufu though actually they are about the same height (Khufu-137m, Khafre-136.5m) today. Khufu was originally 146m high. Menkaure is 66m high and and are usually shown with its three subsidiary pyramids.

The base of Khufu is 233m long and base of Khafre is 210.5m.

The base of Menkaure is 108m long. In the background are the high rise of Cairo.

The subsidiary pyramids of Khufu.

The Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramids.

Sunset over the the Great Pyramids.