The great pyramids at Giza
I went to Egypt with hundreds of questions and came back with thousands.
Egypt lives in children’s imaginations as the world of fantasy, of pharaohs, of mummies, of pyramids, of kings, of power, of ankhs, and I am yet to meet a child who hears about Egypt without falling prey to its enchantment.
Ancient Egypt is big, it is massive, it is impressive, and it can make you feel so small if you let it. Everything natural and human has a way of returning to the earth, our bodies do, our waters circle up to the skies and return, our seeds grow only to wither again and nourish the soil. Not Egypt. Egypt was always looking beyond the planet’s cozy atmosphere and towards the heavens. The pyramids are gigantic, pointy, sharp, were covered with shiny limestone that reflected and could be seen from space, the stars were charted in Egypt on every sarcophagus, on every tomb, and bodies were mummified to withstand time and to defy the laws of nature here on Earth. Was it because Egypt had other plans?
There are about 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt, the largest is Giza’s Khufu pyramid photographed above at sunrise, and is the only wonder of the ancient worlds that remains standing.
Would like to visit Egypt one day… just like my aunts, uncles and grandmother. Mesmerizing photograph. Thanks for the likes of two of my most recent posts. Happy weekend Mimo!
Wow, simply amazing…I could look at this all day.
Thank you!!
Just a side note to offer if I may? As a scholar of ancient Greece and Rome, I marvel at the fact that the great Pyramids were already well and truly ancient by the time of people like Herodotus, and later Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. I point out to my students that more time separates Cleopatra from the Pyramids than separates us from her. Incidentally, while we think of Cleopatra as Egyptian her name is Greek approximately meaning ‘glory of the fathers’, it is the reverse of Patroklos, Achilles’ cousin and friend in the Iliad. She was from a Hellenistic Greek dynasty left over from Alexander the Great’s conquest.
Thank you for that. Yes, it boggles the mind how ancient these structures may in fact be and how little we really know about the ancient Egyptians, their culture and their technology.
A beautiful photograph and a wonderful story about Egypt, and while I have yet to visit Egypt, you allow me to do so through your photos and words. Thank you.
I am glad you can enjoy it!
Very beautiful shot of the pyramids at Giza. Making me miss being in Egyp
being in Egypt*. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go back sometime within the next year.
Thank you! I hope you do!
wow your pictures are truly amazing! I wanted to be an “egyptologue” when I was kid, never been to Egypt tough but it’ll come soon enough : )
It is so worth going! Thank you for your comment!
🙂 thx
Egypt is somewhere I have ALWAYS wanted to visit, and like you I’m sure I’d come away with more questions. A geat post, thanks
I hope you will make it there one day 🙂
Lovelly …
Thank you Jose!
Especially beautiful in grayscale!
I imagine you are setting up what is to come in future posts, thus I continue to look forward to the journey. Interesting shading in the pic.
Hi,
A very nice photo of the pyramids, there are amazing.
Thank you! Yes they are!
“I went to Egypt with hundreds of questions and came back with thousands.” Mimo, you write as beautifully as you make images. Great post.
Thank you Lynn, so kind of you!
Lovely..
Thanks Hellen!
Nice shot – I like the different shades of the 3 bigger pyramids. Egypt is somewhere I have always wanted to go. My grandma was born in Egypt and moved to England at the age of 8. I have heard quite a few stories about it and it would be nice to see where she spent the first few years of her life.
Thank you Helen! It is a very special place!
Great composition of the pyramids
Thank you Bernard!
This is so cool! I hope I can go to Egypt some time in the future.
I hope you can too!
Friends planned a trip to Egypt but cancelled it when the political eruptions began. We all hope it will be safe to journey there again soon.
Ronnie
I hope you will make there one day. Wonderful experience!