Giza Pyramids

Giza Pyramids

The Giza Pyramid Complex, also known as the Giza Necropolis, in Egypt is the site of the Great Pyramid, the Khafre Pyramid and the Menkaure Pyramid, as well as their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. They were all built between 2600 and 2500 BC, during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. There are several temples and cemeteries on the site, as well as the ruins of a working village. The site is located on the edge of the Western Desert, about 9 kilometers west of the Nile River, in the Giza city, and some 13 kilometers southwest of Cairo city center. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, its 16,000 hectares form the northernmost part of the Pyramid Fields of Memphis and its Necropolis. The Great Pyramid and the Khafre Pyramid are the largest pyramids to have been built in ancient Egypt, and are historically widespread in the Western imagination as symbols of Ancient Egypt. They were promoted in Hellenistic days, when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as among the Seven Wonders of the World. It is the oldest of the Ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence today. The pyramids at Giza and others were built to house the remains of the dead pharaohs who ruled Ancient Egypt. It was believed that a part of the pharaoh's spirit, the ka, would remain with his corpse. The pyramid was not only used as a tomb for the pharaoh, but also to store various objects that he would need in the afterlife. The Ancient Egyptians believed that death on earth was the beginning of a journey to the next world.