Egypt : Land Before Time
by Steven N. Ng

In recent years, the number of people touring Egypt has slowly dwindled. This is most likely due to the violence in the Middle Eastern region and the few bombings and kidnappings that have occured in recent years. However, these cases are pretty much isolated, and the thousands of people who visit Egypt every year thoroughly enjoy their experience there.

Egypt is famous for a lot of things, from their exotic perfumes, fine cotton, and the mysteries of mummification and their ancient religion. However, I would like to focus on the architectural and engineering wonders of the Egyptian civilization. When the tribes in Europe and Africa were still building huts and shelters, the Egyptians have already constructed monstrous monuments hundreds of feet in height and width. It is this superiority that has elevated the ancient Egyptian civilization as one of the greatest civilizations in the world.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

By far the most famous of Egypt's architectural wonders are the 3 Great Pyramids located at Giza, near Cairo. These monuments are hundreds of feet in height, and have survived the test of time for the last 4500 years. There are over a hundred pyramids of various sizes in Egypt, and more in neighboring Sudan. These monuments serve as tombs for the great pharaohs of ancient Egypt, and stand as testimony to the power and influence of these pharaohs.

When you stand at the bottom of the Great Pyramids, looking up at their magnificence, the feeling is indescribable. You begin to wonder just how the ancient people managed to construct this huge structure with only the help of the simple tools available at that time. And this feeling of awe intensifies when you take the opportunity to descend into the pyramids via the original entrances that were used thousands of years ago. When you touch the walls of the now-empty tombs beneath the pyramids, you will feel as if you were there thousands of years ago when the tombs were freshly carved. (One warning: You might not want to enter the pyramids if you are claustrophobic!)

The Sphinx

Next to the Great Pyramids at Giza is the enigmatic Sphinx. A gigantic statue with the head of a man and the body of a lion, the great Sphinx stares silently at the east, perhaps watching the sunrise, or perhaps protecting the great pyramids from whatever evils that may threaten to destroy them. The Sphinx is just as old as the pyramids, aging over 4500 years (or more, depending on which group of archaeologists you believe).

Almost everyone has heard of the Sphinx with its missing nose, and some might wonder how he actually lost his nose. (Do not believe what you saw in the Disney cartoon Aladdin) Almost everyone has seen many pictures, or perhaps the Discovery channel, showing the Sphinx in various angles. But you have to visit it, to stand there right next to it, to realize why both the Sphinx and the Pyramids are the most famous man-made structures in the world. Just the front paw of the Sphinx is larger than a human being!

The Wonders of the Nile

The architectural wonders of ancient Egypt are not limited to those at Giza. As you travel along the Nile River (incidentally the longest river in the world), you will come across other monuments. Chief of these is the Valley of Kings near Luxor. It is here that many kings from many of the ancient Egyptian dynasties were entombed. Each tomb is unqiue and is a wonder in its own right. Unfortunately, most of the treasure that was entombed with the pharaohs have long been stolen by tomb raiders. Only the well-hidden tomb of Tutankhamun managed to survive more or less intact to this day.

Further south, near the town of Aswan, are the famous temples of Abu Simbel. Constructed during the reign of Ramses II, better known as Ramses the Great, these two temples feature much-larger-than-life statues guarding the entrances. And beautiful hieroglyphs still adorn the walls of the temples.

The few monuments I've mentioned are just a small fraction of the many wonders that can be found in Egypt. If you have any interest in ancient civilizations, or want to know more about the wonders of ancient Egypt, you owe it to yourself to visit this ancient land before its wonders are eventually swept away by the sands of time.

If you would like to know more about the wonders of Egypt, do check out the following sites:

Pyramids of Giza http://www.nekhebet.com/w_pyramids.html

Sphinx http://www.nekhebet.com/w_sphinx.html

Nile River http://www.nekhebet.com/w_nile.html

And if you want to learn more about the other aspects of Egypt, do visit http://www.nekhebet.com

Steven maintains the informational website Wonders of Ancient Egypt at http://www.nekhebet.com/ Do visit if you want to find out more about the wonders of Egypt such as the Pyramids and the Lighthouse; or mysteries such as mummifcation and conspiracy theories; or its religion and history.

Steven N. Ng may be contacted at http://www.nekhebet.com or webmaster@nekhebet.com

Egypt has long been the source of countless conspiracies, ranging from ancient lost civilizations to extraterrestrial markers. The reason for this focus is likely because Egypt is the most romanticized ancient civilization, and also because it is home to the mystical Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World. This article will describe some of the conspiracies surrounding the Sphinx and the Pyramid.

The Riddle of the Sphinx

Most of the conspiracy theories revolving around the Sphinx usually involve its age. The Sphinx is generally accepted to have been built along with the Pyramids of Giza around 2500 BC. It is even accepted that the face of the Sphinx bears the likeness of Khafre (Chephren), the Pharaoh during that time.

However, there was no written record from that era regarding the Sphinx or its construction. In addition, the human head of the Sphinx is small in relation to the rest of the body, indicating that the head bearing Pharaoh Khafre's likeness could have been carved out of a larger lion's head. These points led some researchers to believe that the Sphinx could have been built much earlier by a more ancient civilization, thus starting a whole host of conspiracy theories.

Geologist Dr. Robert Schoch and author John Anthony West made a case that the erosion marks on the Sphinx appears not to be made by wind or sand, but by water, such as falling rain. They used evidence of other structures in the Giza area to prove their point. If this were true, the construction of the Sphinx could then be dated back to at least 5000 BC, when the area still received substantial rainfall, in contrast to desert conditions later on.

In his official website, Director of the Giza Monuments Dr. Zahi Hawass provides various points suggesting that the evidence used in proving Dr. Schoch's theory is flawed.

Adding to the conspiracies surrounding the age of the Sphinx, writers Graham Hancock and Robert Buvaul provide evidence in their book Message of the Sphinx that the creation of the Sphinx and Pyramids can be pushed back as far as 10,500 BC using astronomical data.

Secret of the Pyramids

The Pyramids of Giza have been the objects of many conspiracies over the years. Many people believe that the Pyramids are a link to an ancient lost civilization, and may still contain evidence to prove it. Many conspiracy theories regarding secret chambers and passageways within the pyramids exist to this day.

These conspiracy theories became even more widespread in 1993, when Dr. Zahi Hawass announced that the Great Pyramid of Khufu was to be closed to the public for a year. The reason given for the closure was to facilitate cleaning, conservation and restoration of the interior chambers in the Great Pyramid.

However, conspiracy theorists believe that the Egyptian authorities had uncovered evidence of a lost civilization in the Pyramid, and were secretly excavating it to reveal more information.

During the conservation process in 1993, robots were used to explore the small ventilation shafts leading from the "King's Chamber" and the lower "Queen's Chamber" in the Great Pyramid. An intriguing discovery was made: partway through the shafts of the "Queen's Chamber" were "doors" with handles.

In order to prove the transparency of their work and debunk any conspiracies, Dr. Zahi Hawass decided to partner with National Geographic to explore beyond the "doors", and provide a live telecast of the exploration to the rest of the world.

After much publicity, the expedition commenced, with footage telecast live around the world. During the last minute of the show, a camera was sent in a hole made in the "door" of the shaft, revealing another "door" behind it. And that was when the show finished. Conspiracy theories started sprouting, asking the following questions: "What's behind the 2nd door? Why did the show end so abruptly? What are they hiding from us?"

More information about Egyptian conspiracies can be found at:

http://www.nekhebet.com/m_conspiracies.html

Steven maintains the informational website Wonders of Ancient Egypt at http://www.nekhebet.com/ Do visit if you want to find out more about the wonders of Egypt such as the Pyramids and the Lighthouse; or mysteries such as mummifcation and conspiracy theories; or its religion and history.

Steven N. Ng may be contacted at http://www.nekhebet.com or webmaster@nekhebet.com