2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06
The main attraction of Egypt are, of course, the pyramids. Millions of tourists come to this country all year round to see these majestic buildings with their own eyes. The largest pyramid in Giza is the Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops. At 160 meters from it, there is a similar structure, which occupies the second place in terms of its dimensions - the Khafre Pyramid.
Presumably, the tomb for the son of Cheops - Khafre, was built in 2600 - 2450 BC. The building was named Urt-Khafra, which means "Honored Khafra". Despite the fact that Khafre's pyramid is 8 meters smaller than his father's, visually it seems larger, because. located on a high hill. In addition, it suffered the least damage compared to other pyramids.
During the reign of the pharaohs, the Khafre pyramid was only an element of a huge burial complex. This complex included a small companion pyramid erected for Khafre's wife,mortuary temple, enclosure wall, valley temple, road and port. The temple buildings of Khafra, built from multi-ton limestone and granite blocks, became a kind of standard, in accordance with which other pharaohs of the Old Kingdom built their pyramids.
The famous Great Sphinx is another one of the most unique landmarks that Egypt is famous for. The Pyramid of Khafre and the statue of a reclining lion with a human head are the classic symbols of this country. The Great Sphinx was built next to the pyramid. This majestic monument is carved from limestone rock. Unfortunately, time did not spare him - the front part of the sculpture was slashed with cracks, and there are significant spalls on the nose and chin parts. But the statue “owes” its mutilations not only to the destructive power of time, but also to Muslim Arabs, who considered the Sphinx to be the personification of an evil spirit, and therefore tried to destroy it.
Ancient Egyptian chronicles say that not every mortal could approach the place where the pharaoh rested, because the Khafre pyramid was the personification of the “eternal horizon”, beyond which the pharaoh had gone. Everyone who wished to honor the memory of the one who "went beyond the horizon" could be honored in the mortuary temple located not far from the pyramid - thus, mere mortals could not offend the greatness of the pharaoh.
Great attention was also paid to the safety of the countless riches that filled the storerooms of the tombs, because they were a serious temptation for many. The builders of the pyramid prepared in advance near the entrance a heavy capstone, closingfrom within. After the funeral ceremony, the supports supporting this stone were knocked out from under it, and the entrance was thus blocked forever. The builders lowered the same stone into the crypt - this huge castle blocked the entrance to the corridor. Neither people nor demons could penetrate such a tomb, therefore, the pharaoh could rest peacefully in his last refuge.
Alas, all these measures were in vain - the burial shrines of the Egyptian rulers were plundered in ancient times. Our contemporaries, making a trip to Egypt, can only contemplate the deserted halls and wander through the complex interweaving of passages located inside the pyramids.
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