One of the motivations for this trip to Egypt is this photo of who we believe to be Marshall’s grandfather, Wayland Magee, visiting the Pyramids in the early 20th century on his world tour. We were going to re-enact this photo!

We started the day with a visit to the ancient city of Memphis to see some impressive Ramses II statues. Dating back to 3000BC, the city was the first capital, uniting the upper and lower prehistoric kingdoms of Egypt. We learned about ancient building processes, including support walls to hold columns, fearing they would crumble using the more porous but widely available sandstone.

Next, we visited our first pyramid, The pyramid of Djoser. Sometimes called the Step Pyramid, it is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. It is believed to be the first pyramid to be built, sometime around the 27th century BC. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.

Finally, we were on to the most famous of pyramids at the Giza complex, home to the Khufu Pyramid, also known as the Great Pyramid; the Pyramid of Khafre; and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. This complex sits just miles outside of Cairo.

Initially standing at 481 ft, the Great Pyramid was the world’s tallest human-made structure for more than 3,800 years. Over time, most of the smooth white limestone casing was removed, lowering the pyramid’s current height to 454.4 ft; what is seen today is the underlying core structure. The base is 755.6 ft square, giving a volume of roughly 92 million cubic feet. The Great Pyramid was built by quarrying an estimated 2.3 million large blocks, weighing 6 million tons in total. The majority of the stones are not uniform in size or shape, and are only roughly dressed.

We had a nice traditional lunch at Khufu’s Restaurant, with outstanding views. A camel ride followed and finally a visit to the Sphinx to recapture the photo. While we could not get to the exact location of the original photo, and they do not allow camels in front of the sphinx any longer, nor could we get a shot without others photobombing, today we captured the spirit of the photo, wouldn’t you agree?

Tomorrow: Coptic Cairo, Ben Ezra Synagogue, Flight to Luxor