Giza Plateau
๐ Location: Giza, western edge of Greater Cairo ย ยท ย ๐บ Period: 4th Dynasty (Old Kingdom) ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: ~540 EGP plateau; entering the Great Pyramid extra (~900 EGP)
No introduction is really needed. The Giza Plateau holds the three pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Great Sphinx, the Valley and Mortuary Temples that served them, the Solar Boat of Khufu (now moving to the GEM), and dozens of subsidiary queens' pyramids and noble mastaba tombs โ all built within a single, astonishing century around 2570โ2470 BC.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu stands 146 m tall (originally) and used some 2.3 million blocks of limestone; for nearly four millennia it was the tallest building on earth. Khafre's pyramid still keeps a cap of its original polished casing stones at the top. The Sphinx, a 73 m lion-bodied guardian carved from a single ridge of bedrock, was almost certainly cut for Khafre and faces due east.
Adjacent on the plateau's southern edge is the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum, with the complete Tutankhamun collection.
Highlights
- Great Pyramid of Khufu โ climb a short way inside to the King's Chamber
- Pyramid of Khafre โ slightly smaller, retains its limestone cap
- Pyramid of Menkaure โ smallest of the three
- Great Sphinx โ best photographed from the Sphinx terrace
- Solar Boat โ Khufu's 4,600-year-old cedar barque
- Grand Egyptian Museum beside the plateau
Visiting
- Opening hours: 7 am โ 5 pm (later in summer)
- Tickets: ~540 EGP plateau; +900 EGP to enter Khufu, +100 EGP for Khafre
- Best time: be at the gate at opening to beat heat and crowds; sound-and-light show at night
- Nearby: Saqqara, Dahshur