Egypt : Land Before Time
by: Steven N. Ng
In recent years, the number of people touring Egypt has slowly dwindled.
This is most likely due to the violence in the Middle Eastern region
and the few bombings and kidnappings that have occured in recent years.
However, these cases are pretty much isolated, and the thousands of
people who visit Egypt every year thoroughly enjoy their experience
there.
Egypt is famous for a lot of things, from their exotic perfumes, fine
cotton, and the mysteries of mummification and their ancient religion.
However, I would like to focus on the architectural and engineering
wonders of the Egyptian civilization. When the tribes in Europe and
Africa were still building huts and shelters, the Egyptians have already
constructed monstrous monuments hundreds of feet in height and width.
It is this superiority that has elevated the ancient Egyptian civilization
as one of the greatest civilizations in the world.
The Great Pyramids of Giza
By far the most famous of Egypt's architectural wonders are the 3 Great
Pyramids located at Giza, near Cairo. These monuments are hundreds of
feet in height, and have survived the test of time for the last 4500
years. There are over a hundred pyramids of various sizes in Egypt,
and more in neighboring Sudan. These monuments serve as tombs for the
great pharaohs of ancient Egypt, and stand as testimony to the power
and influence of these pharaohs.
When you stand at the bottom of the Great Pyramids, looking up at their
magnificence, the feeling is indescribable. You begin to wonder just
how the ancient people managed to construct this huge structure with
only the help of the simple tools available at that time. And this feeling
of awe intensifies when you take the opportunity to descend into the
pyramids via the original entrances that were used thousands of years
ago. When you touch the walls of the now-empty tombs beneath the pyramids,
you will feel as if you were there thousands of years ago when the tombs
were freshly carved. (One warning: You might not want to enter the pyramids
if you are claustrophobic!)
The Sphinx
Next to the Great Pyramids at Giza is the enigmatic Sphinx. A gigantic
statue with the head of a man and the body of a lion, the great Sphinx
stares silently at the east, perhaps watching the sunrise, or perhaps
protecting the great pyramids from whatever evils that may threaten
to destroy them. The Sphinx is just as old as the pyramids, aging over
4500 years (or more, depending on which group of archaeologists you
believe).
Almost everyone has heard of the Sphinx with its missing nose, and
some might wonder how he actually lost his nose. (Do not believe what
you saw in the Disney cartoon Aladdin) Almost everyone has seen many
pictures, or perhaps the Discovery channel, showing the Sphinx in various
angles. But you have to visit it, to stand there right next to it, to
realize why both the Sphinx and the Pyramids are the most famous man-made
structures in the world. Just the front paw of the Sphinx is larger
than a human being!
The Wonders of the Nile
The architectural wonders of ancient Egypt are not limited to those
at Giza. As you travel along the Nile River (incidentally the longest
river in the world), you will come across other monuments. Chief of
these is the Valley of Kings near Luxor. It is here that many kings
from many of the ancient Egyptian dynasties were entombed. Each tomb
is unqiue and is a wonder in its own right. Unfortunately, most of the
treasure that was entombed with the pharaohs have long been stolen by
tomb raiders. Only the well-hidden tomb of Tutankhamun managed to survive
more or less intact to this day.
Further south, near the town of Aswan, are the famous temples of Abu
Simbel. Constructed during the reign of Ramses II, better known as Ramses
the Great, these two temples feature much-larger-than-life statues guarding
the entrances. And beautiful hieroglyphs still adorn the walls of the
temples.
The few monuments I've mentioned are just a small fraction of the many
wonders that can be found in Egypt. If you have any interest in ancient
civilizations, or want to know more about the wonders of ancient Egypt,
you owe it to yourself to visit this ancient land before its wonders
are eventually swept away by the sands of time.
If you would like to know more about the wonders of Egypt, do check
out the following sites:
* Pyramids of Giza http://www.nekhebet.com/w_pyramids.html
* Sphinx http://www.nekhebet.com/w_sphinx.html
* Nile River http://www.nekhebet.com/w_nile.html
And if you want to learn more about the other aspects
of Egypt, do visit http://www.nekhebet.com
About The Author - Steven maintains the informational
website Wonders of Ancient Egypt at
http://www.nekhebet.com. Do visit if you want to find out more about
the wonders of Egypt such as the Pyramids and the Lighthouse; or mysteries
such as mummifcation and conspiracy theories; or its religion and history.
- webmaster@nekhebet.com
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