well, the pyramids of Giza .. are perhaps the only true rival to the Great Sphinx .. when one thinks about ancient Egypt and its architecture ... the valley of Giza with its wonderful monuments .. is truly a marvel of architectural prowess .. the three Pyramids .. consist of The Great Pyramid of "Khufu" The Pyramid of "Kafhre" and the pyramid of "Menkaura" .. each Pyramid is also a tomb to a these three Great kings of Egypt :~)
btw, contrary to the common belief .. only the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) .. not all three Great Pyramids .. is on top of the list of Wonders :~) and this monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies :~)
The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) ..
[thumb=A]Dsc00621.JPG[/thumb]
All three pyramids were built during the 3rd and 4th dynasty .. and were monumental undertakings of the king and the kings sons .. The Pyramid of Khufu has a base which covers roughly a nine acre area "roughly 392,040 square feet" .. the pyramid of Menkaura .. unlike the other pyramids .. had one tier of its base covered in granite .. whereas the pyramid of Khafre .. had a two tier base encased in granite .. :~)
The Great Pyramid of Khafre ...
[thumb=A]Dsc00620.JPG[/thumb]
Unfortunately like many of the great Kings of the Old Kingdom of Egypt .. the Pyramid of Menkaura, Khufu and Kafhre were not finished in the time of the end of the Kings reign .. in the case of Menkaura .. the king died before its construction was completed .. neways the monuments of Giza and the entire Giza valley stand as a marvelous reminder of the skill executed in the creation of the pyramids .. and are truly fabulous to see :~)
I took this picture from Panorama .. a place from where you can clearly see all the nine pyramids of GIZA :~)
[thumb=A]Dsc00640.JPG[/thumb]
GIZA doesn't have just three pyramids .. its has nine pyramids in total .. the Three huge ones belongs to the Father (khufu) , Son (Khafre) and Grandson (Menkaura) and the rest of 6 small pyramids belongs to the daughters of the family :~)
[thumb=A]Dsc00637.JPG[/thumb]
There are plenty of websites available on net showing the complete history of GIZA and the several theories proposed by the different archeologist about the construction of these huge monuments :~) so check them out if you've build some interest :~)
This was the way to Panorama :~)
[thumb=A]Dsc00648.JPG[/thumb]