Monday, September 1, 2008

The Only Wonder of the World Left Standing.....





In my title, of course, I'm referring to the Pyramids at Giza, the single remaining wonder of the world. When we say wonder, we usually use it as a substitute for the word "think" or an obscure reference to something we don't know. We say, "Oh, I wonder what time it is" with a quizzical look on our face. We may say, "I wonder where all my money has gone on this trip to Egypt," only full well knowing where it did go (Mom and Dad, I bought a house here). Essentially, we use the word "wonder" in a context of ambiguity, not truly grasping the gravity of such a term. When you think of the wonders of the ancient world, you can only imagine them. Take the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for instance. They sound nice....but I can't really smell the flowers. The Colossus of Rhodes acted like an ancient Statue of Liberty, ushering and welcoming travelers to the Isle of Rhodes, but I can only see mere sketches of what once was. The Pyramids at Giza, on the other hand, are not a mere imaginary wonder that once existed. They are not bound by the historic ambiguity of wonder as the other sites, but only by the reality of the present. They are truly a sight to behold. The sheer magnitude of these behemoths beckons you to ask, "How were these built?" In this case you can only gasp, and say to yourself, "I can only wonder."

Here are some of the pictures I took. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest and largest pyramid in Egypt, and after its completion 2600 BC, stood 146.5 meters high. The middle pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, has some of the original limestone on its peak. The Pyramid of Menakure is the smallest of the three pyramids, standing at 62 meters (originally 66.5m).  This pyramid has incurred significant damage as a result of a 16th century caliph who wanted to destroy the Pyramids. According to my Lonely Planet guide, "Abu al-Hol (Father of Terror), the Sphinx is carved from one huge piece of limestone left over from the carving of the stone for the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It is not known when it was carved, but one theory is that it was Khafre who thought of shaping the rock into a lion's body with a god's face, wearing the royal headdress of Egypt."


Mom and Dad, I was joking about the house.


It was a mansion.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair


5 comments:

Jerrad said...

Hey Man,

Looks like a lot of fun. I'd love to be in Egypt. I am having trouble getting perspective on that Sphinx. Is that the great sphinx? How big is it? In one picture it looks like it is just behind you and not very tall. Then in the others it looks much larger.

pd said...

Great pictures Blair.

It looks like the party is over there!

Anonymous said...

Blair,

Amazing photos, you fit in well. I'm sure there's enough room in that mansion for your Ohio cousins.
Love reading your blog and seeing the photos. Makes me feel as if I'm the cool cousin traveling around the world!

Sarah

Tiffany said...

Oh cool!

mkoo said...

Heyy can you post more about the littlest pyramid, Menkaure? I need to find out more about it...