A journey along many pyramids and other
nice places of interest.

Day 6, mondag 4 december 2017.

Program today: Giza with the pyramids, the Sphinx, the boat of Khufu as well as various tombs and at the end the Egyptian museum in Cairo.

Just like the other days it was pretty foggy now when we got in the car at 7 o'clock. The intention was to first pay a short visit to Abu Rawash to see the remains of the pyramid of Djedefre, but despite asking many people and because of the fog, we did not succeed unfortunately and at 9 o'clock we headed for the Giza plateau.

Giza pyramid complex.

The pyramids at Giza are among the most famous buildings of humanity.
The pyramids are located in the Egyptian necropolis in Giza, they are attributed to Cheops (Khufu), which is also known as the "Great Pyramid", to Chefren (Khafre) and to Menkaure (Mykerinos), the smallest pyramid of the three .
In addition, there are a number of smaller pyramids known as queen pyramids.
On the east side of the complex is the Sphinx of Giza.
There are also many mastabas and tombs to be found as well as the museum of the boat of Cheops.

Map of the pyramid complex, courtesy to MesserWoland.

My goal was mainly to finally visit the pyramid of Chefren since it was closed in 2012. I also wanted to take pictures again in the pyramid of Menkaure because in 2012 they had become rather dusty.
Also the boat museum and a few recently opened tombs were on my wish list. The pyramid of Cheops is not, given the available time I skipped it this time.
Unfortunately, at the ticket-office we heard that the pyramid of Chefren was closed again, it was a shame, too bad.

Pyramids in the mist.

On the way to the pyramid of Menkaure, we first stopped for a few pictures of pyramids in the fog, because thats something you do not see every day.

Click on the picture to see more.

The tomb of Seshem Nefer Theti.

Then we first came to another tomb, alerted by a guard that it was also open.
Seshemnefer IV (Sšm-nfr) was the Head of the royal harem, meaning that he was the manager of that part of the palace in which the wives and children of the royal family lived.
Also, a list on which his titles stand, survived the test of time and we know that he was an important person at the court, who was trusted by his king.
The remaining reliefs provide insight into daily life in his time, including agriculture, animal husbandry, bird hunting, grain storage as well as clothing, sacrificial rituals and, to a certain extent, the everyday language.
The tomb was excavated between 1842 and 1845 by a team lead by Karl Richard Lepsius, recently the tomb was completely restored and opened to the public.

Click on the picture to see more of the tomb of Seshemnefer..

Although there are not so many beautiful decorations present, this tomb is also worth a look. Now up to the pyramid of Menkaure.

The pyramid of Menkaure.

The pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three pyramids on the Giza plateau. It is thought that this pyramid was built to serve as a tomb for the pharaoh Menkaure of the fourth dynasty.
Originally this pyramid was 65.5 meters high, at present the height is 61 meters with a base 108.5 meters wide, the sides have an angle of about 51°20'25". It was constructed from limestone and granite.
South of the pyramid there are 3 satellite pyramids each accompanied by a temple and a substructure.
The date of the construction of the pyramid is unknown as Menkaure's reign is not accurately established, but it was probably completed in the 26th century BC.
At the end of the 12th century al-Malek al-Aziz Othman, Yusuf, Saladin's son and heir, tried to demolish the pyramids, starting with the pyramid of Menkaure.
The workmen who had recruited Al-Aziz to demolish the pyramid found it almost as difficult to destroy as to build. They stayed at work for eight months. They were unable to remove more than one or two stones every day at the expense of exhausting themselves. Some used wedges and levers to move the stones, while others used ropes to pull them down.
When a stone fell, he would bury himself in the sand, and it required extraordinary efforts to free it. Wedges were used to split the stones into different pieces, and a cart was used to bring it to the foot of the slope, where it had been left behind.
Far from achieving what they intended to do, they only damaged the pyramid by leaving a large vertical opening in the north.

Click on the picture to see more of the pyramid of Menkaure.

If you want to see the photos taken in 2012, click here.
The next target was the museum with the boat of Cheops.

Giza Solar Boat museum.

The museum, constructed in 1985, is entirely dedicated to the Solarboat of Cheops. It is built next to the great pyramid of Cheops. The museum is equipped with modern techniques and technology for the preservation of the Solarboat. The museum is only a few meters from where the boat was found, near the southern part of the pyramid.

Click on the picture to see more of theSolarboat.

Still cool to see how well they could build a boat at that time.
After this interesting visit it was the intention to visit the mastaba of Mersy Ptah II, but to my surprise there came something in between, it appeared that a queen / pyramid at Cheops was open to the public and that had to be first being watched.

Pyramid of Henutsen.

Henutsen is the name of the second or third wife of Pharaoh Cheops. Little is known about Henutsens life, some scholars believe she was the daughter of pharaoh Sneferu, but that is not generally accepted. She is also not known as a king's mother.
Of Henutsen is not known if she ever wore the title of king's daughter, which would unmistakably designate her as a princess. The only document describing her as a princess is the famous `inventory stele` from the 26th dynasty, the artifact is however identified by scholars as a forgery, made by Saitian priests, the information about the royal status of Henutsen as a princess is therefore in doubtfull.
The only royal title that has been proven for her is the title of a royal woman.

Click on the picture to see more of the pyramid of Henutsen.

That was a pleasant surprise. Now on to the mastaba of Meresankh III.

Tomb of Meresankh III.

Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II, a daughter of Cheops and Prince Kawab, the eldest son of Cheops and a granddaughter of Cheops, her parents were brother and sister.
She married pharaoh Chephren, her uncle, and bore him 4 sons, Nebemakhet, Niuserre the later pharaoh, Khenterka and Duaenre as well as a daughter named Shepsetkau.
Her titles were "King's daughter" and "King's wife, Grand of Scepter".
Her tomb is very nicely decorated. This tomb was originally planned for her mother Hetepheres II, but she gave it to her daughter, suggesting that Meresankh's death was sudden and unexpected.

Click on the picture to see more of the tomb of Meresankh III.

Incomprehensible that no more people come here to watch, because the tomb is very beautifully decorated, but it will probably have to do with the rest of the imposing buildings present here.
The last thing I had to do and what you should not miss here is a visit to the sphinx.

The sphinx of Giza.

The Sphinx of Giza is the largest and most famous image of a sphinx in the world. It stands at the three great pyramids in Giza with its back to the pyramid of Chefren.
There is still much unclear about the construction and the origin of the sphinx, there is so much speculation about it, there would also be spaces under the sphinx, which have not yet been explored, at least as far as we know, perhaps there will be clarity about this during our lives..........

Click on the picture to see more of the Sphinx

It remains a magnificent and imposing object, appealing to the imagination.
As far as the Giza plateau is concerned we're done now, it is now half past two so time to visit the museum in Caìro.

The Egyptian museum in Caìro.

To get there we had to go straight through Caìro and that is not easy considering the hectic traffic with a cacophony of car horns, but after a good hour we arrived at the museum.
They are busy transferring parts of the collection to the new museum, leaving room to exhibit things that we would never see otherwise, such as a large part of the collection from Toetankhamon's grave, I'm very curious.

Click on the picture to see more of the museumcollection.

Great, I am also curious how the new museum will look like when it is opened next year.
Do you want to see the pictures from 2012, received from Olette because making photos then was not possible then click here.
Whouw it is over, again a great trip with over 30 pyramids and many tombs, once again excellent organized by Olette van Horus travel Egypt, Olette thanks it was great and maybe until next time, because there there is much more to see in Egypt.

End

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A journey along many pyramids and other nice places of interest.