Society & Culture & Entertainment
Society & Culture & Entertainment & Religion & Spirituality Information Information
Full Day Tour To Pyramids And Egyptian Museum Cairo Trips
There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with the Egypt. They have been both the main destination for tourists, and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years.pyramid excursions
However, there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt, many of which are relatively unknown to anyone who is not an ancient Egypt enthusiast. All but a very few are grouped around and near the City of Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Otherwise, only one royal pyramid is known in southern Egypt (at Abydos), that being the one built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th Dynasty and Egypt's New Kingdom.It may have also been the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.
Hence, major pyramids were not built throughout Egypt's ancient history. The Pyramid Age began with a burst of building, starting with the 3rd Dynasty reign of Djoser. Some of the early kings, most specifically Snefru, built more than one pyramid. Almost all of the kings added to their number through the end of the Middle Kingdom, with the possible exception of the First Intermediate Period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms. After the first Pharaoh of Egypt's New Kingdom, Ahmose, royal pyramid building by Egyptians ceased entirely. Somewhat abruptly the kings of the New Kingdom chose, rather than making their tombs completely obvious, to hide them in the hills of the West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor).
Other pyramids in the world certainly exist, but their purpose, for the most part, was different than those of ancient Egypt. The most famous outside Egypt are probably those located in Mexico and to the south of Mexico, but these appear to have been built more as temples. In Egypt, all but a select few of the pyramids were built as tombs, sometimes to hold the physical body of a pharaoh (as well as other individuals), or to hold the soul of the deceased (as in the case of the small cult pyramids built next to the larger ones). Otherwise, the purpose of only a few small, regional stepped pyramids remains elusive.
day trips to the pyramids
In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius produced the first modern list of pyramids, in which he counted 67. A great many more have since been discovered. As of November 2008, 118 Egyptian pyramids have been identified.
The location of Pyramid 29, which Lepsius called the "Headless Pyramid", was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by desert sands subsequent to Lepsius' survey. It was only found again during an archaeological dig conducted in 2008.
Many pyramids are in a poor state of preservation or buried by desert sands. If visible at all they may appear as little more than mounds of rubble. As a consequence archaeologists are continuing to identify and study previously unknown pyramid structures.
The most recent pyramid to be discovered is that of Queen Sesheshet, mother of 6th Dynasty Pharaoh Teti, located at Saqqara. The discovery was announced by Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, on 11 November 2008.
All of Egypt's pyramids, except the small Third Dynasty pyramid of Zawyet el-Amwat (or Zawyet el-Mayitin), are sited on the west bank of the Nile, and most are grouped together in a number of pyramid fields. The most important of these are listed geographically, from north to south, below.
While pyramids were, for the most part, tombs for the Pharaohs of Egypt, one must nevertheless question the reason that Egyptian rulers chose this particular shape, and for that matter, why they built them so large. Today, we believe that they chose the shape in order to mimic the Benben, a pyramid shaped stone found in the earliest of temples, which itself is thought to symbolize the primeval mound from which the Egyptians believed life emerged. This also connected the pyramid to Re, the Sun God, as it was he, according to some of the ancient Egypt mythology, who rose from the primeval mound to create life.
As far the great size of many of the pyramids in Egypt, we can really only surmise that the Pharaohs were making a statement about their own power and perhaps, about the glory and strength of their country. However, it should also be remembered that many of the latter pyramids were not nearly as large as the Great Pyramids at Giza (and elsewhere).
Pyramids evolved. The first of them was not a perfectly formed pyramid. In fact, the first Pyramid we believe that was built in Egypt, that of Djoser, was not a true pyramid at all with smooth sides and a point at the top. Rather, its sides were stepped, and the top of the pyramid truncated with a flat surface (as best we know). As the Egyptian pyramids evolved, there were failures as well glorious failures until finally, they got it right with what was probably the first smooth sided true pyramid built at Meidum. In fact, pyramids continued to evolve throughout their history, perhaps not always in outward appearances, but in the way that they were built and in the theology surrounding their construction. For example, towards the latter part of Egypt's Pyramid Age, Osirian beliefs seem to have had more and more impact on the arrangement and layout of the subterranean chambers.
However, soon after the first pyramids were built, their form became somewhat standardized. Royal pyramid complexes included the main pyramid, a courtyard surrounding the main pyramid, a much smaller cult pyramid for the king's soul, a mortuary temple situated next to the main pyramid, an enclosure wall and a causeway that led down to a valley temple. Some pyramid complexes included subsidiary, smaller pyramids for family members, and most were surrounded by some sort of tombs for family members.
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the worlds largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah Garden. The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was getting to be too small to hold all of the artifacts. In 1855, shortly after the artifacts were moved, Duke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artifacts. He hired a French architect to design and construct a new museum for the antiquities. The new building was to be constructed on the bank of the Nile River in Boulaq. In 1878, after the museum has been completed for some time, it suffered some irreversible damage; a flood of the Nile River caused the antiquities to be relocated to another museum, in Giza. The artifacts remained there until 1902 when they were moved, for the last time, to the current museum in Tahrir Square. During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the museum was broken into, and two mummies were reportedly destroyed. Several artifacts were also shown to have been damaged.
There are two main floors in the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor there is an extensive collection of papyrus and coins used in the Ancient world. The numerous pieces of papyrus are generally small fragments, due to their decay over the past two millennia. Several languages are found on these pieces, including Greek, Latin, Arabic, and the Ancient Egyptian writing language of hieroglyphs. The coins found on this floor are made of many different metals, including gold, silver, and bronze. The coins are not only Egyptian, but also Greek, Roman, and Islamic. This has helped historians research the history of Ancient Egyptian trade. Also on the ground floor are artifacts from the New Kingdom, the time period between 1550 and 1069 BC. These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include statues, tables, and coffins (sarcophagi).
On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Ancient Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings.
Main articles: King Tutankhamun and Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun
Unlike many tombs discovered in Egypt, that of King Tutankhamun was found mostly intact. Inside the tomb there was a large collection of artifacts used throughout the Kings life. These artifacts ranged from a decorated chest, which was most likely used as a closet or suitcase, two ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative jewelry, to alabaster vases and flasks. The tomb was also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb held over 3,500 artifacts, the tomb was not found completely intact. In fact, there had been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamun's burial.
The best known artifact in King Tutankhamuns tomb is the famous Gold Mask, which rested over the bandages that were wrapped around the Kings face. The mask weighs in at 11 kg (24.5 pounds) of solid gold, and is believed to represent what the Kings face really looked like.
pyramid tours
The remains of many famous Pharaohs are stored in the Egyptian Museum. One of these is Pharaoh Ramses III, who was an extremely skilled warrior. For many of the mummified pharaohs, it has been very difficult to determine when they were born, and historians can only estimate a time when they reigned over Egypt. For Amenhotep IV, historians have estimated his reign around 1372 B.C., because they found out when Amenhotep IV's father, Amenhotep III died. Also, that Amenhotep IV's tomb inscribed five names he gave himself and one of them, Golden Horus, proves that he was crowned on the bank of the Nile, his father's favorite domain. Before he became pharaoh, he was already married to Nefertiti. When Amenhotep IV did become pharaoh, he destroyed the religion of Amun. He did this because he wanted to start his own new religion of Aten, the sun, which is pictured as a disc that sends out rays ending in hands.
Take a leisurely private tour of Cairo's most famous sites, the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili bazaar, enjoy your full Day tour in Cairo with your own private Egyptologist tour guide from Egypt Excursions Online.
The Great Pyramids consist of the Great Pyramid of Giza ,known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu, the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre or Chephren a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure or Mykerinos a few hundred meters further south-west The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre Along with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as queens pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids Then proceed to visit the great Sphinx, the body of lion and head of Pharaoh which dates from the time of Chephren, visit the Valley temple which belongs to the pyramid of Chephren Visit the institute of papyrus to see the manual way to make the first paper all over the world
Have a lunch, drive to the Egyptian Museum which features artifacts from the pharaonic period, The museum displays a rare collection of 5000 years of art which is considered the largest most precious collection of Egyptian art in the world, more 250,000 genuine artifacts are presented, including an exhibit dedicated to Tutankhamen, collection of treasure, gold and jewelry which was enclosed in his tomb over 3500 years before it was discovered in 1922 when his tomb was excavated ,Transfer back to your hotel
Trip Details
Runs On: Every Day
Hotel Pickup: 08:00 AM
Hotel Return: 05:00 PM
Available languages (Tour guide):
English, German, Russian, Spanish
The Price Doesn't Include
Drinks in the restaurant
Historians believe Sneferu was the first king of the Fourth Dynasty. The year he started his reign was around 2620 B.C. Sneferu appears to have been a fair and just king, and seems to have deserved his chosen name of Master of Justice or Truth. Sneferu, like many other kings, built many temples and structures. All of his structures and buildings had a specific signature: the statue of a young woman symbolizing the foundation. She presents the sign of life and votive offerings, as well as the signs of the city and the stronghold. There are about four or five of these structures in each province.
Many pharaohs chose coronation names and they all seemed to be alike. For example, Sneferu, Tutankhamun and Amenhotep all had the name "Golden Horus".
However, there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt, many of which are relatively unknown to anyone who is not an ancient Egypt enthusiast. All but a very few are grouped around and near the City of Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Otherwise, only one royal pyramid is known in southern Egypt (at Abydos), that being the one built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th Dynasty and Egypt's New Kingdom.It may have also been the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.
Hence, major pyramids were not built throughout Egypt's ancient history. The Pyramid Age began with a burst of building, starting with the 3rd Dynasty reign of Djoser. Some of the early kings, most specifically Snefru, built more than one pyramid. Almost all of the kings added to their number through the end of the Middle Kingdom, with the possible exception of the First Intermediate Period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms. After the first Pharaoh of Egypt's New Kingdom, Ahmose, royal pyramid building by Egyptians ceased entirely. Somewhat abruptly the kings of the New Kingdom chose, rather than making their tombs completely obvious, to hide them in the hills of the West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor).
Other pyramids in the world certainly exist, but their purpose, for the most part, was different than those of ancient Egypt. The most famous outside Egypt are probably those located in Mexico and to the south of Mexico, but these appear to have been built more as temples. In Egypt, all but a select few of the pyramids were built as tombs, sometimes to hold the physical body of a pharaoh (as well as other individuals), or to hold the soul of the deceased (as in the case of the small cult pyramids built next to the larger ones). Otherwise, the purpose of only a few small, regional stepped pyramids remains elusive.
day trips to the pyramids
In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius produced the first modern list of pyramids, in which he counted 67. A great many more have since been discovered. As of November 2008, 118 Egyptian pyramids have been identified.
The location of Pyramid 29, which Lepsius called the "Headless Pyramid", was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by desert sands subsequent to Lepsius' survey. It was only found again during an archaeological dig conducted in 2008.
Many pyramids are in a poor state of preservation or buried by desert sands. If visible at all they may appear as little more than mounds of rubble. As a consequence archaeologists are continuing to identify and study previously unknown pyramid structures.
The most recent pyramid to be discovered is that of Queen Sesheshet, mother of 6th Dynasty Pharaoh Teti, located at Saqqara. The discovery was announced by Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, on 11 November 2008.
All of Egypt's pyramids, except the small Third Dynasty pyramid of Zawyet el-Amwat (or Zawyet el-Mayitin), are sited on the west bank of the Nile, and most are grouped together in a number of pyramid fields. The most important of these are listed geographically, from north to south, below.
While pyramids were, for the most part, tombs for the Pharaohs of Egypt, one must nevertheless question the reason that Egyptian rulers chose this particular shape, and for that matter, why they built them so large. Today, we believe that they chose the shape in order to mimic the Benben, a pyramid shaped stone found in the earliest of temples, which itself is thought to symbolize the primeval mound from which the Egyptians believed life emerged. This also connected the pyramid to Re, the Sun God, as it was he, according to some of the ancient Egypt mythology, who rose from the primeval mound to create life.
As far the great size of many of the pyramids in Egypt, we can really only surmise that the Pharaohs were making a statement about their own power and perhaps, about the glory and strength of their country. However, it should also be remembered that many of the latter pyramids were not nearly as large as the Great Pyramids at Giza (and elsewhere).
Pyramids evolved. The first of them was not a perfectly formed pyramid. In fact, the first Pyramid we believe that was built in Egypt, that of Djoser, was not a true pyramid at all with smooth sides and a point at the top. Rather, its sides were stepped, and the top of the pyramid truncated with a flat surface (as best we know). As the Egyptian pyramids evolved, there were failures as well glorious failures until finally, they got it right with what was probably the first smooth sided true pyramid built at Meidum. In fact, pyramids continued to evolve throughout their history, perhaps not always in outward appearances, but in the way that they were built and in the theology surrounding their construction. For example, towards the latter part of Egypt's Pyramid Age, Osirian beliefs seem to have had more and more impact on the arrangement and layout of the subterranean chambers.
However, soon after the first pyramids were built, their form became somewhat standardized. Royal pyramid complexes included the main pyramid, a courtyard surrounding the main pyramid, a much smaller cult pyramid for the king's soul, a mortuary temple situated next to the main pyramid, an enclosure wall and a causeway that led down to a valley temple. Some pyramid complexes included subsidiary, smaller pyramids for family members, and most were surrounded by some sort of tombs for family members.
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the worlds largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah Garden. The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was getting to be too small to hold all of the artifacts. In 1855, shortly after the artifacts were moved, Duke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artifacts. He hired a French architect to design and construct a new museum for the antiquities. The new building was to be constructed on the bank of the Nile River in Boulaq. In 1878, after the museum has been completed for some time, it suffered some irreversible damage; a flood of the Nile River caused the antiquities to be relocated to another museum, in Giza. The artifacts remained there until 1902 when they were moved, for the last time, to the current museum in Tahrir Square. During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the museum was broken into, and two mummies were reportedly destroyed. Several artifacts were also shown to have been damaged.
There are two main floors in the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor there is an extensive collection of papyrus and coins used in the Ancient world. The numerous pieces of papyrus are generally small fragments, due to their decay over the past two millennia. Several languages are found on these pieces, including Greek, Latin, Arabic, and the Ancient Egyptian writing language of hieroglyphs. The coins found on this floor are made of many different metals, including gold, silver, and bronze. The coins are not only Egyptian, but also Greek, Roman, and Islamic. This has helped historians research the history of Ancient Egyptian trade. Also on the ground floor are artifacts from the New Kingdom, the time period between 1550 and 1069 BC. These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include statues, tables, and coffins (sarcophagi).
On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Ancient Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings.
Main articles: King Tutankhamun and Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun
Unlike many tombs discovered in Egypt, that of King Tutankhamun was found mostly intact. Inside the tomb there was a large collection of artifacts used throughout the Kings life. These artifacts ranged from a decorated chest, which was most likely used as a closet or suitcase, two ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative jewelry, to alabaster vases and flasks. The tomb was also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb held over 3,500 artifacts, the tomb was not found completely intact. In fact, there had been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamun's burial.
The best known artifact in King Tutankhamuns tomb is the famous Gold Mask, which rested over the bandages that were wrapped around the Kings face. The mask weighs in at 11 kg (24.5 pounds) of solid gold, and is believed to represent what the Kings face really looked like.
pyramid tours
The remains of many famous Pharaohs are stored in the Egyptian Museum. One of these is Pharaoh Ramses III, who was an extremely skilled warrior. For many of the mummified pharaohs, it has been very difficult to determine when they were born, and historians can only estimate a time when they reigned over Egypt. For Amenhotep IV, historians have estimated his reign around 1372 B.C., because they found out when Amenhotep IV's father, Amenhotep III died. Also, that Amenhotep IV's tomb inscribed five names he gave himself and one of them, Golden Horus, proves that he was crowned on the bank of the Nile, his father's favorite domain. Before he became pharaoh, he was already married to Nefertiti. When Amenhotep IV did become pharaoh, he destroyed the religion of Amun. He did this because he wanted to start his own new religion of Aten, the sun, which is pictured as a disc that sends out rays ending in hands.
Take a leisurely private tour of Cairo's most famous sites, the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili bazaar, enjoy your full Day tour in Cairo with your own private Egyptologist tour guide from Egypt Excursions Online.
The Great Pyramids consist of the Great Pyramid of Giza ,known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu, the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre or Chephren a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure or Mykerinos a few hundred meters further south-west The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre Along with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as queens pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids Then proceed to visit the great Sphinx, the body of lion and head of Pharaoh which dates from the time of Chephren, visit the Valley temple which belongs to the pyramid of Chephren Visit the institute of papyrus to see the manual way to make the first paper all over the world
Have a lunch, drive to the Egyptian Museum which features artifacts from the pharaonic period, The museum displays a rare collection of 5000 years of art which is considered the largest most precious collection of Egyptian art in the world, more 250,000 genuine artifacts are presented, including an exhibit dedicated to Tutankhamen, collection of treasure, gold and jewelry which was enclosed in his tomb over 3500 years before it was discovered in 1922 when his tomb was excavated ,Transfer back to your hotel
Trip Details
Runs On: Every Day
Hotel Pickup: 08:00 AM
Hotel Return: 05:00 PM
Available languages (Tour guide):
English, German, Russian, Spanish
The Price Doesn't Include
Drinks in the restaurant
Historians believe Sneferu was the first king of the Fourth Dynasty. The year he started his reign was around 2620 B.C. Sneferu appears to have been a fair and just king, and seems to have deserved his chosen name of Master of Justice or Truth. Sneferu, like many other kings, built many temples and structures. All of his structures and buildings had a specific signature: the statue of a young woman symbolizing the foundation. She presents the sign of life and votive offerings, as well as the signs of the city and the stronghold. There are about four or five of these structures in each province.
Many pharaohs chose coronation names and they all seemed to be alike. For example, Sneferu, Tutankhamun and Amenhotep all had the name "Golden Horus".
