Building Blocks

November 18, 2010

Young Egyptian Girls Pyramid Large Stone Blocks - Cairo, Egypt - Daily Travel Photos
(Cairo, Egypt)
f/11 ▪ 1/200s ▪ @40mm ▪ ISO100 ▪ Canon 5D ▪ Canon 17-40mm f/4
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Young Egyptian girls marvel at the Pyramid of Khufu.

As you see, each building block is about 3/4 the size of one of these young girls. Compare that with the image of the Sphinx from some days earlier and you should get a sense of how absolutely towering the pyramids are.

The point of all of this was to illustrate the deceptive nature of famous photographs of the Sphinx. In many of the iconic photos of the Sphinx, the use of a telephoto lens makes the Sphinx appear equally as large as the pyramids. But, of course, that's not to imply that the Sphinx is tiny.

egypt pyramid stones
Egyptian Policeman Guarding Pyramid Khufu - Cairo, Egypt - Daily Travel Photos
(Cairo, Egypt)
f/11 ▪ 1/200s ▪ @20mm ▪ ISO100 ▪ Canon 5D ▪ Canon 17-40mm f/4
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An Egyptian policeman (lower left) guards the base of the pyramids.

If you can find the minuscule policeman in the photo, it should illustrate the sheer imposing nature of the Pyramid of Khufu. During my first trip to the pyramids in 2003, there were no cordons to keep people away from the stones at the base, nor were there many policemen around. At that time, people would attempt to climb the pyramids before being whistled down after reaching the 4th or 5th level. If the practice continued, sooner or later, a newspaper headline would've read "German tourist tumbles to his death from the top of the Pyramid of Khufu." Now, fortunately, a rope keeps people at least 10 meters (yards) away from the first level of stones.

egypt pyramid khufu
Base Pyramid Khufu Cheops No Climbing Sign - Cairo, Egypt - Daily Travel Photos
(Cairo, Egypt)
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An ancient and rusted "No Climbing" sign at the base of the Pyramid of Khufu.

Call me Mr. Obvious but just looking up would be warning enough to avoid climbing this beast of a structure.

giza khufu pyramid

2 Comments - Building Blocks

1) Londoneya -

Wonderful, love the angles you've chosen

November 20, 2010
2) TravelGuy -

Thank you! I'm still not sure if I did a good job relaying the size of each stone block going up to the top.

November 20, 2010