1/17/18
They let us sleep in until 6:00 this morning. Breakfast, and on the bus by 8:00 a.m. We headed to the pyramid builders' tombs on the northern side of the Giza pyramids. Dr. Hawass met us there and explained to us that all of this area was under sand and was discovered by his team in 1990. Since then, they have continued their digs. The findings show, in great detail, that about 10,000 to 20,000 Egyptians worked under a government project to build the pyramids. They worked 3-4 months out of each year. It took approximately 36 years to build the Great Pyramid. The workers were treated well. They were provided good food (including large amounts of meats) and good medical care. There were NO Jewish slaves (so don't believe the movies). The Jews lived in the northern Sinai area and Jordan, not in Egypt. The average lifespan of the workers was 30-35 years. The Royals and the upper level workers lived another 20 years. They found evidence that disease from bad water was most of the shortened lifespan, not work. After seeing the size of the granite blocks that they moved, I still cannot grasp what kind of effort these pyramids must have taken.
We walked up an down through what was essentially a cemetery, with the upper level workers in tombs at the top of the hill, and the lower level workers buried under mounds down further down the hill. Here are some pictures.
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| the upper tombs of the workers who built the pyramids |
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| burial mounds at the bottom |
We got back on the bus and headed to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt (about 3500 BC). We stopped at a park where many statues, uncovered during excavations, were shown. In one large building was a colossal statue of Rameses II (Rameses the Great), who lived into his 90's and ruled Egypt for over 60 years. If you have ever seen the movie, The Ten Commandments, Rameses II was played by Yul Bryner.
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Rameses II - can you see his son carved into his left leg? |
Next stop was Dashour, where many older pyramids of the 1st and 2nd dynasty period (before the Giza Pyramids) were. We already toured the Step Pyramid (the oldest). We also saw the 'Red' pyramid and the 'Bent' pyramid (due to the angle of the sides). I have pictures below, but we did not go into these pyramids. They were in poor condition, and empty, and we were too tired to climb into them.
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| the 'Red' Pyramid |
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| The 'Bent' pyramid |
These older pyramids showed us how the Egyptians were learning how to go from ramps up the outside to a smooth outside wall. The Bent pyramid was started at a wider angle, but about half way up the inside walls began to crumble, so they changed the angle to a steeper pitch to keep it from caving in. That is why it is called the Bent pyramid.
Our next stop was the Oriental Carpet School, where children from the age of 6 to 18 are trained in the trade of hand made carpets. They make both hand-knotted rugs and woven rugs, made out of wool, cotton, and silk. The tour director had a senior show us how they make the knots on a wool hand-knotted rug. He had to stand up from his bench and grab the right color (according to a color chart placed in the strings), then make two double knots and cut off the excess. One of our tour group tried it, and it took him 4 times longer. The tour director explained that there were 400 knots per square inch, and that a 9x 12 rug would take three workers full time about 10 months to make one rug. Here is a picture of the school and the kids on a loom.
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| kids on a loom |
We then went upstairs where they showed all of their finished products. I fell in love with the silk rugs as they had different colors depending on how the light hits the nap of the thread. We bought a rug for our family room. Here is a picture.
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| over 6 million knots |
Back to the hotel and rest up for our flight South to Luxor.
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