- the pyramids and the sfinx

The name mastaba means bench on arabic. It was build in the sand and covered with stones of dried mud. These kinds of graves was used in the first dynasties for pharaohs and other great men.

The construktion was not very durable because the stones was not made for high temperature and the intensive wind. The chamber with the grave was under the ground, but inside the mastaba, the dead had everything he had to have with him for the life in the underworld. That was food, weapons,furniture etc. These champers was ofcause exposed of grave robbery.

Djosers (Zoser) Step Pyramid

In Saqqara, closeto Giza, Imhotep build the first of 97 known pyramids. This is called a step pyramid, and is the first monument in the world. This pyramid became pharaoh Djosers grave champer, and it is 28 m. under the ground. In differents to other pyramids is this a square instead of rectangular. The entrance was sealed with a granite stone that weight about 3 tons. Later on the grave champer was extended, maybe for more members of the royal family, so it was made longer.

Above the grave chamber he build the great step pyramid. More than 200.000 tons of stone was used in this enormous work. The pyramid is massive without any corridors. The size of it is 140 x 118 meter and the height is about 60 meters.

Pharaoh Djoser already had a grave at Beit Khallaf, and mastaba at 95 x 50 meter, before this was started in Saqqara. The pyramid is surrounded with mastabas.


Snefru's three pyramids
Fofty years later than the step pyramid pharaoh finished his steppyramid with 8 layers. This pyramid is called the fake pyramid because it had a slight construktion and couldnt handle the tough weather in Egypt.

  

When the fake pyramid was finished he went to Dashur, where he startet building the bent pyramid. This pyramid was surposed to be more than 150 meter high, but the gound was very soft so they had to make it smaller.All chambers inside sank, so they gave up.

But pharaoh Snefru refused to give up, and started the building of another pyramid. This is called the red pyramid because its made of red granite. This is not big, because they were afraid it would happen again. Snefru was getting old and he had to be buried in a pyramid, so he could go to Osiris in the underworld.


Kheops Pyramid
When pharaoh Snefru was building the pyramid in Dashur, his queen gave birth to his son Kheops. He had to elder brothers, but they both died. So Kheops had to be king someday - and that day came, when he was 25-30 years old. He toke the throne with his mother. Kheops desided to build a even bigger pyramid than any of his fathers. Beside the great pyramid, is there three smaller ones. grave for his mother, and his two wifes taht gave birth to his sons Khefren and Djedefre.

The pyramid was finished in 2560 B.C. it had taken 20 years to complete and about 10 years to make the road between the oyramid and the quarry. The pyramid is massive unless a few corridors and champers inside.
The size is 230 meter. its was 146 meters high whenit was finished. They udes 5 million stones and granite. the stones weight about 2 tons and some up til 70 tons. All three corners is pionting to the four corners of the world with an incredible exactness.

The pyramid is empty today, except forthe very big black stone sarcophagus inside the kingchamber. All walls are without any relieffs. By the foot of the pyramid there is three small oyramids. Beside it is there today a museum where its possible to see one of the big solar boats that transported the sarcophagud over the Nil. This boat is reconstructured today and is a marvelous sight.

Mykerinos pyramid
The smallest of the three pyramids at Giza is Mykerinos.

Keops pyramide is 10 times bigger than this, but this is in a much better shape. Inside the pyramid all walls are of granite. Mykerinos rules Egypt for about 18 years. His son Shepsekaf cameafter him as the last pharaoh of the 4. dynasty.


Khefren pyramid
This pyramid was build in about 2500 B.C.. All the pyramid was ones covered in white stone, but today you can only see it on the top. It was the muslims that toke all the white stone. They used it for making there moskee. Khefren also made as something new a valley temple.

In the vally temple there is a hypostylhall and a lot of statues. But unfortunately a lot of it is ruined and some of it taken away. But one of the most famous statues of Khefren is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. This pyramid has not always been open for people. But today it is. We had the plesure to be in it. Its a marvelous sight.

The Great Sfinx
The Sfinx in front of the Kefren pyramid is build about 2500 B.C. and is about 75 meters long. They dont know who build it and why. Its not the only Sfinx in Egypt. Because at Karnak temple in Luxor, there is a road with small Sfinx on the both sides.

The Sfinx is originaly from Greece. The greek sfinx was a womans head on a lion body and with wings from an eagle. According to the legend the sfinx was living on a mountain. And it wasnt very plesant. Every time someone came by it ask them a riddle. If they answered wrong it eat them. But one day Ødipus came by and he answered right. The sfinx got so furious that it killed it self.

These egyptian figures was called sfinx because the greek history-writer Herodot came to Egypt in 400 B.C. and saw them. He thought they reminden him of Greece, and therefore named them sfinx. But they doesnt look like the greek ones, because the egyptian doesnt have any eagle-wings.