Every man is the architect of his own future. - Sallust
Good evening dear travellers, today we are going to walk together in the footsteps of the pharaoh kings where we would like to discover their burial place, a special place built for the afterlife of the kings, and the Great Sphinx.
The adventure starts from an amazing location (hotel), I'll leave you some pictures from our departure from Romania and some shots of the hotel garden, that I liked enormously.
For this Adventure a few days before we went to a local travel agency in Hurghada where we contracted some tours through the enchanting Egypt.
03.00 AM after only 4 hours of forced sleep, because all day we walked on the beach of the resort, at the sound of the alarm clock, we get out of bed as if we were teleguided.
We get properly equipped and hurry to the hotel reception, waiting for the minibus that will take us to the Pyramids of Giza - part of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. There's a big rush as we board the modern minibus. People bring a lot of luggage, as if they were staying for a week.
We curl up somewhere in the back seats and try to fall asleep, clutching the breakfast bags prepared by the hotel staff.
We were told the road was long. Almost 4 hours are walking on a deserted road and I personally found it fantastic.
After a short stop for relaxation and some food, at the urging of the driver and the guides, we set off resolutely, did not stay too long in the break and did not eat like bears because during this period in the Arab world is underway their holiday called RAMADAM, lasts a month and during RAMADAM from sunrise to sunset do not drink anything and eat nothing. As a sign of respect we did not drink and eat in front of the drivers either.
As we approach our destination, the city takes on a desolate aura. The horns are getting louder, the traffic is getting heavier and it feels like we're heading into the past.
We cross the outskirts of Cairo. The colours are all mixed with shades of dark brown, smoky in places. Buildings are crammed into unsanitary spaces and it looks like you can only get to them if you're in enviable physical shape.
Rusty bridges, broken stairs, collapsed floors, unfinished roofs, wires full of clothes hung out to dry in an air that is hard to breathe, impregnated with the smell of dung and fermented garbage.
But let's not stray from the theme of this blog, namely one of the seven wonders of the world.
In Egypt, people's belief in the afterlife led to the building of pyramids, intended as tombs of pharaohs (kings).
Desert view on the way to Cairo.
Desert view on the way to Cairo.
At first, smaller stepped pyramids called mastaba were built. These were built from rough bricks, then from stone blocks.
The pyramid is a three-dimensional geometric figure. It consists of a square base and four equilateral triangular sides. There have been numerous monuments built in the shape of a pyramid around the world in ancient times.
It is found today in places such as Central America, Greece, China and Egypt. In China and Egypt, they were built as tombs to preserve the bodies of ancient kings/pharaohs (as they are called in Egypt) and leaders. While most Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Central and Mesoamerica were temples, a religious place of worship used by Hindus and Buddhists.
There are a total of 138 pyramids identified in Egypt. Originally, it was known that the Egyptians had tombs built in box-shaped structures. Thus, the earliest tombs of the pharaohs were flat and known as "Mastabas". And then, later, they began to build majestic tombs by adding layers on top.
The Pyramids of Giza, located on the outskirts of Cairo, is the largest of them all. There are three pyramids of Giza that were built on the western banks of the Nile River, Giza in northern Egypt. The names of the three pyramids come from the corresponding kings of the Fourth Dynasty, for whom they were built.
The Great Pyramid (Khufu) of Pharaoh (King) Kheops, on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the only one of them preserved to this day. The pyramid was built some 4,500 years ago from more than 2.3 million blocks of stone and is almost 150 metres high. Next to it stand the pyramids of the pharaohs Kefren and Mikerinos.
The Egyptians were convinced that there was life after death, so in order to live forever, the human body had to be preserved as well as possible. That's why they developed the process of mummification.
For almost 4,000 years, the Pyramid of Kheops has remained the tallest, largest and most precise stone building ever erected.
The Egyptians achieved perfection in the construction of the monument erected in honor of Pharaoh Cheops who wanted a tomb that would defy time, a gigantic tomb that would preserve his divine remains for eternity, now after visiting and even touching the stone blocks of the pyramid for minutes on end I can say that these megalithic constructions are as if executed by other beings from another galaxy, everything is cut perfectly, everything is amazing without me having any explanation.
The Egyptian pyramids hold many mysteries and enigmas, they are the most imposing architectural monuments of ancient Egypt.
Pyramids are monuments which, in the view of the ancient Egyptians, point the way to the sun. Their corners are perfectly oriented to the four cardinal points.
After spending a few hours near the pyramids we continued our journey with another clear landmark: The Sphinx.
The Sphinx of Giza is a true wonder of the world. It is the greatest sculpture of antiquity that has survived to the present day despite heavy erosion. Facing the rising sun, the Great Sphinx stands patient vigil on the Giza Plateau, 10 km west of Cairo on the west bank of the Nile.
In the distance, the mythological animal slowly poked its head out of the sand, as if it was lurking to see if we were coming. In fact, it was watching us out of the corner of its eye.
The place with Khefren's pyramid in the background was exactly the classic image of any photograph of Egypt! The two jewels of Kefren were in one picture! That was the place where tourists get their fairytale photos.
The Sphinx is a mythological animal with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh, whose name comes from the Greek sfingo (a combination of woman, lion and eagle).
The Sphinx standing in front of us had been "shaped" in a pit, from which some of the material used to build the pyramids was probably extracted and only its head went above ground level! For this reason he had been buried several times under the sand.
I leave below some pictures of the locals and their camels as well as pictures of a small market where you could buy different souvenirs.
In conclusion, the focus today is on conservation rather than further exploration or excavation, so we still have to wait until the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx reveal their secrets.
I can say with my hand on my heart that here you live an experience you will never forget, time seems to stand still, everything revolves around you.
For now here today we put an end to the Egyptian adventure, see you in the next adventure which I don't know where and when it will be.
Thank you in advance for stopping by, for supporting me as this 