Egypt - Giza Pyramids: My World Tour - 2 year, 20 country trip around the world for Bruce Jones and Julia Miller

Today's History Lesson: Giza, Egypt (Pay attention. This took Bruce a long time to type.)

Giza: The pyramids – the sole survivor of the ancient Greek listed Seven Wonders of the World.

In the days of Herodotus (5^th Century BC) the pyramids were covered with a polished white limestone casing and they must have gleamed. Unfortunately, right up until the 19^th century successive builders in Egypt stripped away these outer blocks to build their palaces and mosques, exposing the softer inner core stones to the elements. Had it not been for this, the pyramids might still stand today exactly as they were built, defying time to shift them.

The pyramid builders: It was neither an obsession with death, nor a fear of it, that led the ancient Egyptians to build such incredible mausoleums as their pyramids: it was their belief in eternal life and their desire to be one with the cosmos.

A pharaoh was the son of a god, and the sole receiver of the ka (life force), that emanated from the god. The pharaoh, in turn, conducted this vital force to his people, so in life and death he was worshipped as a god.

A pyramid was a sanctum for the preservation of the ka, and the apex of a much larger funeral complex that provided a place of worship for his loyal subjects. It also provided a visible reminder of the absolute and eternal power of the gods and their universe.

3 Pyramids: Cheops, Chephren, and Mycernius. In order of large to small, they were father, son, and grandson.

Once again, terrorism makes for good travel. Notice that there is no one around the most famous monuments in the world. There are usually 1000's of people here at any given time. All the better for postcard photos of us. Can you count the number of times Bruce is lifting up a pyramid? Way too many. Don't listen to your guide when it's photo op time.

Sound and Light Show photos: This was the 1st time seeing the pyramids. There were approximately 5000 seats arranged in the sand. There were about 100 people present. It seemed like we were at a Disney World show, and these really weren't the pyramids and sphinx, just a stage version. It was a bit surreal standing in front of something so famous and infamous. Here's what others thought

The Sphinx: Known in Arabic as Abu al- Hol (Father of Terror), the feline man was called the Sphinx by the ancient Greeks because it resembled the mythical winged monster with a woman’s head and lion’s body who proposed a riddle to the Thebans and killed all unable to answer correctly.

Carved almost entirely from one huge piece of limestone left over from the carving of the stones for Cheop’s pyramid, the Sphinx is about 50 meters long and 22 meters high. It is not known when it was carved but one theory is that it was Chepren who thought of shaping the rock into a lion’s body with a god’s face, wearing a royal headdress of Egypt. Another theory is that it is the likeness of Chephren himself that has been staring out over the desert sands for so many centuries.

We just couldn't resist the silly poses with the Sphinx. He's such a fun cat, and very photogenic.

What They Said About the Pyramids

"We will also mention the Pyramids... that idle and foolish exhibition of royal wealth. For the cause by most assigned for their construction is an intention of the part of those kings to excuse their treasure, rather than leave them to successors or plotting rivals, or to keep the people from idleness".
Pliny the Elder, circa 50 AD

"Soldier, 40 centuries of history look down upon you from these Pyramids".
Napoleon, readying his forces for battle at Giza, 1798

"Back to the tent, skirting the base of the Pyramid of Khephren, which seems to me inordinately huge and completely sheer; it's like a cliff, like a thin of nature, a mountain - as though it had been created just as it is, and with something terrible about it as if it were going to crush you".
Custave Flabert, 1849

"The Pyramids looked as if they would wear out the air, boring holes in it all day long".
Florence Nightingale, 1840s

"The Pyramids were a quarter of a mile away, impressive by sheer build and reputation; it felt odd to be living at such close quarters with anything quite so famous - it was like having the Prince of Wales at the next table in a restaurant; one kept pretending not to notice, while all the time glancing furtively to see if they were still there".
Evelyn Waugh at the Mena House Hotel, 1929

"I discovered that the marvels of the Pyramids at Gizeh and the sphinx had been degraded into commodities for an enormous tourist trade".
Cecil Beaton, 1942

"Very big. Very old".
camel owner, 1999

Julia's attempt to make the corny "I'm holding up the Pyramids" photo

Is this it? Too low?	Is this better? What do you mean it looks the same?	How about some disco?	Maybe the Hokey Pokey	TA DAAH!!!