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The Great Pyramid of Giza This impressive pyramid, located in the city of Giza, is the largest pyramid in Egypt and the tallest ancient pyramid in the world. It is believed to have been built as a tomb around 2560 BC or BCE. for the Egyptian pharaoh named Khufu or Cheops. This is why you may also hear this pyramid called the Pyramid of Khufu or
the Pyramid of Cheops. It is the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the only one to remain largely intact. Initially standing, At about 147 meters or 480 feet tall, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world. for more than 3,800 years. If you are ever asked if the Great Pyramid is taller than it is wide, Make sure you say no. At ground level, the width of each side is about 1.6 times longer than the height of the pyramid. Let's...
Keep these fun facts rolling. The pyramid was built with about 2.3 million stone blocks, which were an average weight. of 2.5 tons each. The largest stone block in the pyramid is quite massive, weighing about 80 tons. These stone blocks were held in place with about 500,000 tons of mortar. Overall, this results in the total weight of the pyramid being. About six million tons. So how long did it take the Egyptians to build such a monumental structure? Most agree that it was a 20-year endeavor.
Which, if true, means that they must have moved twelve stone blocks into place every hour, night and day. Time for a quick break. I've been buying, wearing, and comparing smartwatches since 2013, and my favorite ones have all been made by Amazfit, the sponsor of this episode. And I'm now wearing their newest model, the Active 2. And oh boy, it's impressive. This state-of-the-art device...
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Back to the episode. Let's now find out what some of the ancient historians had to say about this pyramid. As expected. This massive structure was not ignored by ancient historians. Although they often disputed each other and relied on questionable sources, They did get some facts correct about the Great Pyramid, but they also got some things wrong. One of the first major historians to mention the pyramid
was the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. He wrote about it around 430 BC, which was about 2,000 years. after it was built. So, this is not exactly a first-hand account. His information would have been from a variety of indirect sources, such as... Egyptian officials, priests, locals, Greek immigrants, and others. He wrote that the great pyramid was built for Khufu. who was a tyrannical king. Here is how he described the pharaoh. Before Khufu was king, they told me,
There was nothing but orderly rule in Egypt, and the land prospered greatly. But then Khufu became king over them and brought them to every kind of suffering. He closed all the temples, and he kept the priests from sacrificing there. Then he forced all the Egyptians to work for him. Some were ordered to bring stones. from the stone quarries in the Arabian Mountains all the way to the Nile, and others he forced to receive the stones after they'd been carried over the river in boats.
and to bring them to the Libyan mountains." The Greeks often viewed such grand buildings as the result of the cruel exploitation of the people. Herodotus further states that 100,000 laborers worked on the building in three-month shifts, taking 20 years to build it. He also described an inscription on the outside of the pyramid which indicated the amount of radishes, garlic, and onions that the workers would have eaten.
while working on the pyramid. Around 60 BC, another ancient Greek historian, Deodorus, wrote about the Great Pyramid. Deodorus wasn't a fan of Herodotus, claiming Herodotus told marvelous tales and myths. Deodorus estimated the number of workers. necessary to erect the Great Pyramid at about 360,000, which was almost four times more than Herodotus reported.
They both did agree that it took about 20 years to build, was probably built under forced labor conditions, and that some type of strange menu for the workers, was etched on the outside of it. Although long since eroded, Diodorus did describe that the pyramid was still covered with smooth casing stones. during his lifetime. He speculated that the pyramid was built with the help of ramps, since no lifting tools had yet been invented. He explained,
that the ramps were removed after the structure was completed. So that would explain why there are no ramps there now. Around 25 B.C. The Greek historian Strabo may have been the first to widely report the presence of an entry point and a passageway inside the pyramid. The English translation of his writings include this statement, quote, At a moderate height in one of the sides is a stone.
which may be taken out. When that is removed, there is a passage to the tomb. This may indicate that plundering of the contents of the pyramid may have already started by this time. Around 77 AD or CE, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder shared his curious thoughts about the Great Pyramid, which he referred to as a memorial of vanity. He argued that the structure had been created
as a way to protect the riches of the pharaoh. Or, he mused, it was just a way to keep the lower classes occupied. He also postulated his own theories. of how the large stones were moved into place. He suggested that large piles of salt and potassium nitrate were used as ramps and then they were later washed away with water redirected from the nearby river. His other theory was that a bridge made out of bricks
was used to put the stones in place, and then those bricks from the bridge were later used for nearby houses. Some writings from around 380 AD, started spreading the rumor that the pyramids were built by Biblical Joseph to store corn, wheat, and other grains. I even found a book, published somewhat recently, in 1885, that was trying to keep this old theory alive. Here's a passage from the book.
Quote, The granite chest or coffer without a lid found in the king's chamber was not a sarcophagus or a coffin, but simply... a corn measure, and nothing else. It was placed in that chamber by the inspired builder Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham the Hebrew, the friend of God. The pyramid was a gigantic granary holding corn, and this, the measuring device, by which he ascertained the quantity stored in it.
The passages in the walls, called air channels by Egyptologists, were apertures through which the corn was thrown into the chamber from the outside. The grain was brought from the fields to the apertures up the steps before the casing stones were fitted to the outside. The casing stones were then polished. to keep the contents secure from moth and mildew." So, what exactly is inside the pyramid? Well...
Let's find out by going on a journey through the interior. The original entrance is located on the northern side. It's not at ground level, rather. it is built into the nineteenth layer of the pyramid at about seventeen meters or fifty-six feet off the ground from here There is a descending passage which goes down through the pyramid and then into the bedrock underneath it. As you continue to walk downwards, you're getting deeper into the earth.
under the Great Pyramid. The passage then becomes level and continues to the lower chamber. This first chamber has a pit dug in the floor. And overall, the chamber appears to have been unfinished. Some historians suggest that this lower chamber was intended to be the original burial chamber. But Pharaoh Khufu later changed his mind and wanted it to be higher up in the pyramid. At the opposite end of the chamber is another passage.
But it is a dead end. You have yet to figure out how to enter the body of the pyramid. Looking all around the lower chamber, you will finally and accurately conclude that there are no further passages out of the lower chamber. So, now you just turn around. and head back up the passage that you walk down. As you near the original entrance, you look up and notice a square hole in the ceiling of the passage.
You have now found the entry to the ascending passage. This would not have been so easy to find in ancient times. It was originally concealed with a slab of stone. Getting a boost, you climb up into the ascending passage. It slopes upward toward the middle of the pyramid. After a little bit, the width and the height... of the passage increase greatly as it now becomes a section called the Grand Gallery. This wider Grand Gallery.
continues upward at the same angle as the ascending passage, but something else catches your eye before you continue upwards. On the right-hand side, There's a hole cut in the wall, which leads to a shaft. This shaft runs downwards and connects to the bottom portion of the descending passage. that you first journeyed down into. It is believed that this was a ventilation shaft for the lower chamber. It may have also served
as an escape shaft for the workers who slid the blocking stones of the ascending passage into place. While standing at the beginning of the grand gallery, You also notice a horizontal passage leading into the body of the pyramid. This level passage takes you to the second chamber, referred to as... The Queen's Chamber. Standing inside this chamber, you look up at a pointed roof that is about 6 meters or 20 feet above you.
In the north and south walls of the chamber are small holes that lead to upward slanting shafts. The holes were dug by a British engineer. in 1872 who discovered those shafts. Although those shafts have been mostly explored, their purpose is still unknown. They didn't originally connect to the queen's chamber or to the outside. The British engineer discovered a black rock and some unknown tool.
at the end of one of those shafts. In 1993, a crawler robot showed that one of the shafts was blocked by limestone doors. which had copper handles. In 2002, another robot drilled a hole in the shaft door and peeped through it with a small camera. They didn't see much, though, because the camera couldn't swivel around to get a good look. In 2011, a fiber optic swivel camera was used.
to further reveal what was behind the door. They were able to see hieroglyphs written in red paint and determine that the copper handles were just decorations on the outside of the door. The purpose of the shafts and small room is still unclear, though. Let's return to the start. of the grand gallery that wide corridor that continues sloping upwards if you continue walking up that then you'll reach the third and final chamber
The king's chamber. It is similar in height and size as the queen's chamber and also has several mysterious shafts associated with it. Now these shafts do open to the outside, but they are not perfectly straight, so you won't be able to lie in the king's chamber and gaze at the stars. The initial belief was that they were air shafts for ventilation, but now they are believed to have been built to allow the King Spirit to rise to the heavens.
Above the ceiling of the chamber are five compartments, known as the relieving chambers. This name can be misleading. The relieving chambers. were not built because the pharaoh had prostate issues and may need to relieve himself in the afterlife. Rather, they're called relieving chambers. because they are believed to relieve the stress load of the rocks above the chamber, so it didn't cave in. The only object in the king's chamber...
is a rectangular granite sarcophagus, one corner of which is broken. The sarcophagus is slightly larger than the ascending passage, which indicates... that it must have been placed in the chamber before the roof was put in place. Unlike the fine masonry of the walls of the chamber, the sarcophagus is roughly finished. with saw marks visible in several places. This is in contrast with the finely finished and decorated sarcophagi found in other pyramids.
of the same period. It's been suggested that such a sarcophagus was intended but then it was lost in the river during its voyage. So a replacement was quickly made and used instead. Now, you may be wondering, where are all the treasures and artifacts that should be inside the pyramid? As you can guess, they've been plundered. In fact, tourists today don't enter the Great Pyramid through the original entrance, but rather...
through a tunnel created by robbers. In 820 AD, this robber's tunnel was created by a group of men with a battering ram. It begins at about ground level and continues straight until it connects with the beginning of the ascending passage. It is likely that the pyramid... had already been plundered prior to the creation of the robbers tunnel in 820. Some believe that it may have even been plundered.
long before 430 BC, the time of Herodotus. It is even theorized that the robber's tunnel was initially created. soon after the pyramid was built, but then it was resealed and rediscovered by others much later. As you can imagine, the Great Pyramid must have been the world's largest and simplest treasure map. Soon after it was built, there were thousands of workers who knew what it contained.
They knew how to use stone-breaking tools, and they knew the internal layout. Yeah. Announcing the completion of the Great Pyramid was like yelling, ready? Set. Go. To all the potential robbers in the area. So, who built this great pyramid? And how was it built? The 2.3 million limestone blocks used to create the pyramid are believed to have been transported from nearby quarries. Some of the largest stones in the pyramid
are made of granite, which may have been transported from more than 800 kilometers or 500 miles away. Traditionally, Ancient Egyptians created stone blocks by hammering wooden wedges into them and soaking the wedges with water. As the water was absorbed into the wood, The wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. If the rock was soft limestone, then it could be further shaped with copper chisels, drills.
and saws. If the rock was harder granite, then the stone blocks were created by slowly pounding them with dolerite rock and then drilling and sawing them. with the aid of an abrasive such as quartz sand. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid. There isn't a uniform agreement on whether the blocks were dragged, lifted, or even rolled into place. The average block was 2.5 tons.
And it is believed that eight men could move this weight over level land using a water-lubricated sludge system. Heavier blocks. would have required even more men. For example, it would probably have taken 45 men to move a 16-ton stone block. Now, Although eight men could probably drag a 2.5 ton block, moving that same size block up a ramp system. to its final resting place in the pyramid, would have required even more men per block. It is estimated that a 2.5 ton stone block needed 18 men.
to move it up a ramp. Surprisingly, it's believed they could move it up the ramp at a speed of one foot per second, or... 18 meters per minute. Leveling the foundation was probably accomplished by the use of water-filled trenches. After all the stone blocks were in place, The Great Pyramid was surfaced by white casing stones. These stones were highly polished white limestone that created a smooth,
and slanted surface to the outside. In 1303, a massive earthquake loosened many of these outer casing stones. which were then carted away to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. In the early 1800s, many more casing stones were removed from the Great Pyramid. to build the upper portion of an alabaster mosque in Cairo. Today, you can still see these limestone casings from the pyramid.
on these other structures. Later explorers reported massive piles of rubble at the base of the pyramid left over from the continuing collapse. of the casing stones. Most of these casing stones on the ground were cleared away during continuing excavations of the site. Although, you can still view some remaining casing stones lying around the base of the pyramid today. But if you were to gaze upwards at the Great Pyramid itself,
What you would see is the underlying core structure without its original casing stones. There also isn't much agreement on who did all the labor. The Greeks believed that slave labor was used, but modern discoveries made at nearby workers' camps suggest that it was built instead by tens of thousands. of skilled workers. One theory is that the laborers consisted of two groups of 100,000 men. These men
or further divided into groups of 20,000 men, each of a particular skill. One modern construction management study estimated that the pyramid could have been built by just 40,000 total men, with about 14,000 men working actively on a daily basis. This study... also estimated that the pyramid could have been built in 10 years rather than the commonly believed length of 20 years.
If you liked my public episode about the Great Pyramid of Egypt then you'll enjoy this true story of someone who visited this pyramid in 1905. You'll not only hear some new facts about the Great Pyramid, but you'll also learn about other pyramids, the Sphinx, the Great Mosque, Muhammad Ali Pashi. Mamadukes, Dragomons, and what the city of Cairo was like in 1905. Alright, let's climb inside.
my time machine of tranquility. In 1905, I decided to depart the U.S. on an ocean steamer and visit several other countries with my good friend. Mr. Peasley. Our destinations included England, Italy, and Egypt. Today, though, I'm just going to focus on our trip to Cairo, Egypt. Mostly because I've seen many eyelids get droopy when I yap on about England and Italy. But as soon as I say the words, Egypt and pyramids...
People perk up like I splashed cold water on them. Ooh, you saw pyramids? Were they big? Of course, this sounds like the dumbest question in the world. And it is. Especially in regard to the Great Pyramid of Giza. But the actual answer... to this seemingly stupid question is, no, not all the pyramids are big, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me begin with our arrival.
and experience in Cairo, this city in Egypt that's closest to the Great Pyramid. Our plan was to explore Cairo first and then cap our visit. with the awe of the Great Pyramid. I was quickly impressed by the cosmopolitan nature and scenic opportunities of Cairo. The Guidebooks Oh, the guidebooks. They flap on and on about the rock tombs and the mosques. But it is the bazaars and crowded streets on the banks of the Nile, which...
probably enthralled visitors the most. On arrival, our nostrils were filled with local scents. Our ears perked up at the lively chatter of many languages. and our eyes feasted on a colorful throng of turbans, gowns, and fezes. We also saw a lot of donkeys. Yeah. A lot of donkeys. There were donkey smells, donkey sounds, and donkey sights just about everywhere. I like donkeys, so... It wasn't really a big deal to me. But Mr. Peasley, yeah, not so much a donkey lover. He must have been bullied.
by a gang of donkeys in his youth, because they often made him grumpy and twitchy. But when he wasn't surrounded by a cloud of donkeys, He was happily sharing facts about Cairo that he had learned about. I say facts because that is what he was calling them. I would call them... Something more like vague references to partial truths or poorly remembered miscellany. Or to be more fair, let me call them... For example, at dinner one night, he called anchovies, anchovitis.
making them sound like some type of venereal disease. As a rule, he gets one syllable right, which is pretty good for him. In Cairo, Whenever we arrived at some historical site, Mr. Peasley would perk up and start spewing his quasi-facts. For instance... On our first day in Cairo, we charted a trip to see a famous mosque in the Citadel. I know, I know. I mocked the guidebooks for suggesting these type of sites.
But I still had to visit them, and I ended up finding them quite fascinating. This particular one was the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha. Mr. Peasley immediately perked up to inform us that it is also known as the Alabama Mosque. This seemed strange to me. So later... I looked it up. It is actually also known as the Alabaster Mosque, not the Alabama Mosque. That there is just a typical...
peacely quasi-fact, he means well. This was the largest mosque to be built in the first half of the 19th century, and... It is the most visible one in Cairo. Perched on a high limestone cliff overlooking the city, this grand mosque will be one of the first sights you see. when you enter the city. It is modern and gorgeous with alabaster columns, a profusion of colorful rugs, stained windows.
and crystal chandeliers. A person in our tour group started sharing some history about the mosque as we were exploring the inside. Mr. Peasley perked up. Not wanting to be outdone, he started spitting out his own historical tidbits, one of his gems included. Near this very spot, Muhammad Ali Pasha. killed more than 150 mamalukes in one day. Ooh. Everyone in the group raised their eyebrows at this dark but curious tidbit.
Finally, someone in the group uttered, What is a mamalook? I swung my head back towards Mr. Peasley, quite interested to see what he had to say. With utter confidence, he replied promptly, A mamalook is something like a mongoose, only larger. Everyone in the group nodded. and made little oh sounds, like they were all happy to learn a new fact. I knew better. I later found out that a mamaluk is a term.
most commonly referring to non-Arab, ethnically diverse slave soldiers and freed slaves who were assigned military and administrative duties, serving the ruling Ottoman. and Arab dynasties in the Muslim world. Yeah, that there's a mouthful. Perhaps Mr. Peasley actually knew that long and complicated definition. then just decided that this group would be more satisfied by hearing that it was a large mongoose. As I think back to that group of low-brow tourists,
I do think he made the right call. Now, in addition to the ubiquity of donkeys everywhere in Cairo, there is another common item at every turn. The cigarette. It almost seems that Cairo could be the cigarette capital of the world. Perhaps pharaoh tombs were filled with cartons of cigarettes. And that was what really attracted the Tomb Raiders. Or maybe they were filled with gold. But the robbers took the gold so they could pass it down to their ancestors.
so their ancestors could use the gold to buy cigarettes. As I look around in Cairo, it appears that every man, woman, and child is puffing away. I think I even saw a donkey and a camel hiding behind a tent, passing a discarded stub between them. It was kind of hard to tell what they were doing. Because as soon as they caught me staring, they gave me some dirty side-eye, flicked the stub away, and hoofed it out of there. As far as I could tell.
Almost nearly everyone also sells cigarettes. And I'm not just talking about tobacco shop owners, but also hat sellers, jugglers. and real estate agents. A cigarette across the counter is the usual preliminary to driving a bargain. Oh, wait, my friend. Before we discuss the cost of this mummified earlobe from an ancient pharaoh, let us share a cigarette first. Of course, no one really sells.
a mummified earlobe in Cairo. Instead, they sell the whole mummified body. Yeah, this ain't no quasi-fact. I'll explain. We wandered into a shop near the hotel to just browse through some antiquities of Egypt. We were rifling through a collection of scarabs, idols. coins, and other musty trinkets when the shop owner suggested that I purchase a mummy. Oh, can I get one?
I asked in surprise. I can get you a hundred mummies if you like, he replied. What would I do with a hundred mummies, I retorted. Give them as gifts, he explained with a straight face. I bet none of your friends already have a mummy in their home. Hmm, fair point, I thought. He handed me a cigarette and gestured for me to follow him. Oh boy, here comes the hard sell. I followed him into a large back room and I saw two.
beautifully preserved specimens being packed away for shipment to America. Other specimens leaned against the wall in careless attitudes. I looked at the mummies and then I looked at the cigarette in my hand. I felt that the mummies were giving me a not-so-subtle message. I imagined that one was suddenly going to lean forward and whisper to me, I also got wrapped up in the habit of smoking.
I slowly put the cigarette in my pocket. I had had no idea that mummies were so plentiful. It seemed that in some parts of Egypt... People would go out and dig them up just as they would dig up potatoes. Were these really mummified pharaohs from thousands of years ago? Or just some old animal bones wrapped up in toilet paper to sell to dumb tourists. I didn't fully believe that they were real. Yet.
I deeply wanted one. I figured I could prop it up in my house to deter me from smoking. I imagine that every time someone visited me... They would point at my mummy and ask, What is that? And I would just reply in a calm tone, Oh, that? Just some mummy I picked up on sale in Egypt? Yep, that there would be a lifetime of self-amusement. As difficult as it was, I left the shop without buying a mummy. I did score a free cigarette, though.
We continued our exploration of the city before heading to see the Great Pyramid. We resisted the temptation to hire one of the local guides, who were called Dragomans. The dragomans were easy to spot because they were usually leading a group of people while talking endlessly and pointing in every direction like a scarecrow in a tornado. The only time a dragoman stopped talking was to take a drag off of a cigarette. Mr. Peasley called each one a dragman.
I'm not sure if this was one of his accidental quasi-facts or a well-thought-out joke. I didn't ask him. Instead, I decided that an open-mouthed smile and a nod was a safe response every time he said it. Now, during our exploration in Cairo, a brilliant plan of action had been forming in my mind. At last, I couldn't keep it to myself any longer, so I told Mr. Peasley, I'm going to publish an article about the Great Pyramid of Giza.
I declared with enthusiasm. I'm going to explain who built it and how long it took and how many blocks of stone it contains. The world is going to marvel. at this fresh news that I'll bring to them. Mr. Peasley furrowed his brow and said, It's a great scheme, but you've been scooped. It was written up already. Scooped. Are you sure? I replied. Yes, sir. The whole outfit of pyramids has been described in a special article by a man named...
Herodotus. When did this happen? I asked with astonishment. Oh, about 430 B.C., Mr. Beasley replied. He produced a guidebook that proved that this wasn't one of his quasi-facts. Yeah, scooped indeed, I thought. All the things that I had been getting ready to say... about the Great Pyramid had already been said by Herodotus. He beat me to it by about 2,400 years.
Mr. Peasley suggested to go ahead with my article. He gathered that anyone who read the original press release by Herodotus had long expired. Oh, I love me that Mr. Peasley. So supportive. Yet, I had my doubts. I'm sure some hoarder. would have an old copy of that press release from 24 centuries ago. Looking into it myself, I found out that Herodotus secured himself a guide who took him to the pyramids.
His guide, and many others, filled him full of pyramid info, although a lot of it was hearsay. Like today, though. People don't usually care if something is true. They just care if it is interesting. He could have written that the pyramids were constructed by green monkeys using just... bananas and spit. Oh, that Herodotus always brings back exciting facts about the world. Its readers would have cheered. Whatever Herodotus.
had to say about the Great Pyramid was probably accepted as gospel, even though he didn't see it until 20 centuries after it was built. It is likely he sat down at a local pub with a bunch of chatty lads and asked them, Hey, what do you know about that big ancient thing right there? as he stabbed his pointer finger towards the Great Pyramid. Between gulps of beverages, he was informed that it may have taken about thirty years total to build it. The first ten years, too.
build the road along with the huge incline to the building site, and then another twenty years to cut the stones, transport them across the Nile, and stack them into a pretty pile. to please the pharaoh. Herodotus was also informed that about a hundred thousand stone workers had created it. Although, these hundred thousand workers may have been assisted by many more local farmers during the non-farming season. I think the conversations probably went something like this.
Hey, farmer man. What are you doing right now? said the pyramid worker to the local farmer. Oh, nothing. It's the off-season, so I'm just getting some rest. Who's asking? replied the farmer. The pharaoh's asking, you mouthy dirt pusher. We need your help to move a couple of stones, declared the pyramid worker. A couple of stones, you say? That sounds easy enough. I'll probably be back under the shea tree in about ten minutes, the naive farmer replied.
The word soon got around to the local farmers that these stones actually weighed about two and a half tons each. After that... I bet the local farmers learned to relax in less conspicuous spots during their off-season. Herodotus also discovered some large hieroglyphics on the face of the pyramid. and asked his guide for a translation. It is likely that any guide at that time of Herodotus couldn't read, or else they would have had a better job.
Now, I'm sure that the guide, though, was smart enough to have someone else read it to him, and he just memorized it. And then... When others, like Herodotus, asked him what it meant, he just pretended to slowly read it and translate it right on the spot. Probably like this. Oh, you want me to translate this? Yeah, no problem. Let's see. Bird. Stick. Eyeball beetle. Wavy lines.
Dot dot dash. Ah yes, very clear. The guide would probably say as he squinted at the marks on the pyramid and figured that this should earn him a big tip. The guide then explained to Herodotus that the inscription told the amount and the cost of the garlic and onions consumed by the pyramid builders. Oh! How fascinating. How much did they spend for onions and garlic? Herodotus asked the guide, poised to jot it down in his notebook. The guide.
squinted back at the etchings, pretended again to read it, and then said, uh, about sixteen hundred talents of silver. Now you might wonder. Was that a lot of money? That would be about 2 million US dollars in the year 1900. Or about 1 billion US dollars. In 2023. Yeah. A billion dollars. Spent on onions and garlic. Ooh, he gad indeed. I bet. that back in 430 BC, it was probably easy to know who were the pyramid workers. Yeah, they were the ones with the bad sunburns and the onion-garlic breath.
I suspect the local citizens lobbied the pyramid cooks to add a couple mint leaves to that menu. Now today, you won't see that menu on the side of the Great Pyramid. because the outer casing stones have mostly fallen off. Speaking of decaying monuments, we decided to hurry up and go see the Great Pyramid before the rest of it. crumbled into the sand. We had the notion that to get there from Cairo, we needed to travel for hours on camels through a scorching desert. Fortunately...
We were quite wrong about that. The Great Pyramid, along with its companion structures, and even the Sphinx, are on a rocky plateau only about five miles. to the west of the city. We just needed to jump in a tram car. Yeah, what's a tram car? A tram car is also known as a street car or a trolley car. No matter what you call it, it's a large box with seats that moves on rails. There was another option, though, to hire a horse-drawn carriage.
How delightful. This sounded more relaxing, so we flagged one down. Of course, we later found out that we had paid twice the usual rate. I suspect the Latin root for the word tourist means naive visitor from another land with loose purse strings. Oh well. We glided along at a slow and relaxing pace in our carriage. Overall, it was quite soothing and scenic. The road was wide and solid.
lined with acacia trees and has a lovely view of the pyramids for the entire trip. At the end of the road and at the foot of the hill, there's a hotel. And from this point... One may walk or else charter an animal. The uphill walk is only about five minutes, which is what most tourists choose. But the option... To ride a camel? That was irresistible, and it also fit my original vision for how I thought we would arrive to the pyramid. So we paid the fee.
and mounted some camels. It was unclear if the camel operator said that the camels were six years old or sixty years old. The animals did act like they were 60 years old. Mine gave me a hairy eyeball as I mounted it, then seemed to creak with every step. I wondered if these creaky camels were originally owned by the pharaoh who built the pyramid. We happily dismounted these ancient animals when we arrived at our destination.
We gazed in solemn silence at the great pyramid. You may be even surprised to learn that there is a whole flock of pyramids on this plateau. There are pyramids to the north and pyramids to the south. Sixty pyramids in total. They vary in size. From the ginormous Great Pyramid, down to itsy-bitsy ones that just might stick to your fridge if you put a magnet on them. So, why do all these pyramids?
varies so greatly in size. Each one was built by some royal person as an enduring monument to his administration and as the last resting place. of his remains. Most historians agree that the size of each of these pyramids is a fair measure of the length of each king's reign. So Cheops has the biggest pyramid because he held his office the longest. At the start of any king's reign, he would initially build a small pyramid.
If his reign reached ten years and he still felt healthy, then he would extend the size of his pyramid by adding more blocks. And this keeps going. until he reaches a point in his reign that he feels he will be needing a tomb soon. Yeah, when his health goes down, his final pyramid goes up. Labor was free and materials were cheap, so yeah, he kept everybody working on his tomb for as long as he lived. But when the court physicians...
would see his gas tank heading towards zero, then the outer casing stones and inscriptions would be added. Hence, rulers who only lasted a couple of years... ended up with a fridge magnet for a final tomb. Whereas the reign of Pharaoh Cheops lasted about 30 years. Clearly. He was a man who knew how to avoid the Grim Reaper. Perhaps his health secret was onions and garlic, which is why he force-fed them to his stone workers.
Looking around, we noticed that there were some sites that were probably not built by any of the pharaohs, like the nearby golf course. that was built into the desert. Some golf courses have sand hazards built into them. This was the reverse. It was a giant sand hazard. with a golf course built into it. Yeah, I wasn't sad that I had left my clubs at home. Oh, a quick mention about the Sphinx.
Or to say its proper name. The Great Sphinx of Giza. I imagine everything is named this way around here. The Great Trolley Car of Giza. The great laundromat of Giza. The great hot dog stand of Giza. Anyway, the Sphinx is a limestone statue. of a reclining mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. It's an impressive statue with a length of 240 feet or... 73 meters, and a height of 66 feet, or 20 meters. The width of the smile is about 7 feet.
or two meters. I wasn't smiling, though. The poor Sphinx was in a bad state of repair. I wanted to tap a local official. and tell them that it needed some serious grooming. I threatened to slap a fresh coat of paint on that mythical creature. Mr. Peasley mumbled something about getting arrested and... Proper historical preservation. Blah, blah, blah, whatever, Mr. Beasley. Curiously, Herodotus didn't mention the Sphinx.
even though it was right there during his time. Perhaps he was too distracted by some impressive local guide who was faking a translation. of the onion and garlic menu. Unlike Herodotus, plenty of people during our visit were properly interested in Sphinx. We noticed. that most of the people around us, now and throughout the day, seem to be quite elderly. That made me think about our ancient camels.
the ancient pyramids, and the dilapidated sphinx. Everything out here in the desert seemed very old. I wondered if the desert ages everything at an accelerated rate. Maybe that camel I rode was only six days old. but was bedraggled and pickled by the dry sand. Perhaps the pyramids in the Sphinx were built last year, and they just look ragged. due to being exposed to the desert climate. I stared at my hands. I swear I could see more wrinkles than yesterday.
Mr. Beasley didn't even respond to me when I hypothesized this desert aging theory. Or maybe he couldn't hear me anymore. because the desert had turned him into an old deaf man. I wasn't going to risk it. I figured it was time to get out of the desert and head home. I gestured to Mr. Peasley that we should head back into the city. Again, he didn't respond with words, but rather...
He just slowly shuffled his feet in the direction I had pointed. I knew just the thing that we needed to rejuvenate our health. I think I remember seeing an eatery. in the city that was named the Great Onion Garlic Cafe of Giza. I bet the Pharaoh Cheops would give that place five stars. we shuffled our aging feet in its direction. This is the end of the episode. If you want to hear over 90 more episodes
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