How To Enter Ancient Egyptian Pyramids
|
Everyone that first visits Egypt wants to be able to gaze upon the Great Pyramids at Giza. When you arrive in Cairo there are dozens of tour operators that offer various historical tour packages that you on a boat on the Nile River while you visit the various pyramids up and down the river. These tours can be a week long or two weeks long as you make your way on the Nile River. They are flexible and you can choose what best suits your travel schedule. We will journey into the Great Pyramid in Giza and discuss this first. This pyramid was constructed during the reign of King Khufu. The original entrance was hidden under a layer smooth Tura limestone as was the rest of the pyramid. The smooth surface around the entranced blended extremely well with the rest of the pyramid and kept the entrance hidden from tomb robbers.
|
The entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the northern side. Pharaoh Khufu wanted his burial chamber facing north as he believed he would be placed under the protection of the northern star, Polaris. The original entrance was discovered in 820 A.D. when Abdullah Al Mamun put together a team of men to bore a new tunnel into the pyramid to look for the burial chambers and any treasures that were enclosed in with the pharaoh. This was an intrusive entrance and the men actually tunneled into one of the deeper subterranean chambers. It was when they backtracked up the angled path where they discovered another path that ultimately led to the original entrance.
The tours that operate for the Great Pyramid all use the intrusive tunnel entrance that was dug by Abdullah Al Mamun and his men. The tunnel has now been reinforced and there are guard rails and steps to make the descent and ascent into the different chambers much easier. You can also tell the intrusive tunnel was not the original tunnel because of the roughness of the pathway. If you venture into original passageways and chambers the stones will all feel smooth. It makes you feel incredibly blessed to be able to touch something of such antiquity and the insurmountable effort that went into the construct this grand pyramid.
More Articles :
|
How To Enter Ancient Egyptian Pyramids
