Pyramids @ MindSay 
egypt
In new research on the great pyramids of Giza, a scientist says he has found more to their construction than cut natural limestone: some original parts of the massive structures appear to be made of concrete blocks.
If true, historians say, this would be the earliest known application of concrete technology, some 2,500 years before the Romans started using it widely in harbors, amphitheaters and other architecture.
Reporting the results of his study, Michel W. Barsoum, a professor of materials engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, concluded that the use of limestone concrete could explain in part how the Egyptians were able to complete such massive monuments, beginning around 2550 B.C. They used concrete blocks, he said, on the outer and inner casings and probably on the upper levels, where it would have been difficult to hoist carved stone.
“The sophistication and endurance of this ancient concrete technology is simply astounding,” Dr. Barsoum wrote in a report in the December issue of The Journal of the American Ceramic Society.
Dr. Barsoum and his co-workers, Adrish Ganguly of Drexel and Gilles Hug of the National Center for Scientific Research in France, analyzed the mineralogy of samples from several parts of the Khufu pyramid, and said they found mineral ratios that did not exist in any known limestone sources. From the geochemical mix of lime, sand and clay, they concluded, “the simplest explanation” is that it was cast concrete.
My first full day in Egypt really allowed me to connect with the country’s deep and ancient history as my group and I went to see the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and the Egyptian National Museum.
The Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza really allow you to understand how advanced the culture of the Egyptians really was. I never knew the individual blocks of stone that the Egyptians used to make the pyramids were so large, a fact I became aware of when I saw that the base stones came up to around my shoulders. Standing next to them, I could not understand how such an ancient civilization could move such large stones. The pyramids themselves are simply overpowering pieces of construction. They are so big that focusing on the whole structure at once is quite a difficult task. Interestingly, when you look at the top of the pyramid from its base it loses its angular shape and looks like stairs going towards the heavens.
Set about a five minute bus ride from the Pyramids, the Sphinx is also an amazing sight to see both for its sheer size and because of the way that the Great Pyramids are picturesquely set in its background. Also, some myths about these structures were dispelled by my tour guide. According to her, archaeological evidence shows that the Great Pyramids were made by neither aliens nor Jewish slaves, but rather by skilled Egyptian craftsmen and engineers. Additionally, the claim that the nose of the Sphinx was blown off by French troops because it was that of African face is untrue. Rather, it was blown away because of early Muslim rulers believed that such a large portrayal of a person’s fame was blasphemous.
As the afternoon wore on, my group and I went to the Egyptian National Museum. Home to treasures such as King Tut’s mask, the museum was quite an experience. Unfortunately, the museum does not allow any photos; however, the memories I have are unbelievable. The King Tut exhibit was definitely amazing. While I was impressed at the Pyramids by the way in which the Egyptians were able to construct so massive a structure, I was impressed at the museum by the way in which the Egyptians were able master such small details in the fields of artisanry and craftsmanship.
"What?" You may ask, "Egypt? The last time you spoke to us you said you were going to write about Paris, what gives?"
Well, I'll tell ya. I wrote four lovely Paris blog entries telling about the fabulous time I had there and all of the awesome things I did there, like visit Napoleon's tomb, and see the Moulin Rouge. But unfortunately I forgot to send them into blogabroad before rushing out the door to get to the airport for Cairo, so wait for just a little bit longer and I promise I will send Paris as soon as I get back! Right now there are photos online, though, and you can check those out.
But enough about Paris, let's talk about Cairo.
Actually, my Cairo trip begins in Paris. We were flying on air France, so we had to transfer at Charles DeGaull Airport. The only problem is the French were having an air transit strike, so our flight from Heathrow was delayed. We got there with about half an hour before our flight was supposed to leave, but the airline was really nice about it and had a bus drive us from one flight to the other. We just barely made it, which was great, but our luggage was not so lucky. In truth I shouldn't be complaining though, I had the forsight to pack deoderant and a tooth brush in my carryon. One of my travelling companions, Katie, packed her epilepsy medication in her bag, and now can't get to it. Sweaty clothes are nothing compared with that. So we're hoping to get our bags today, which would be nice because twenty four hours in the same clothes in the Cairo heat is not to pleasant.
The Cairo heat, however, is very pleasant. It's been in the eighties and nineties since we got here and sunny (except at night and for the past hour or so when it has started to sprinkle lightly). Do you have any idea how longs its been since I felt eighty degrees? It's wonderful! Compared to cold and rainy London, this is paradise!
I should say a few words about my traveling companions. I'm with a group of six other students, only one of whom I'm friends with, two who are vague acquaintences and three I met for the first time at the airport.We are a healthy mixture of English, Scottish and American, though only one of us, Luke, our fearless leader, speaks any Arabic.
Once we got in last night and sorted out the luggage debacle we parked our carry-ons at the hotel. We went out for a quick walk around the streets of Cairo, which is amazing! It was about ten thirty by the time we got around to wandering, and the streets were filled--people sat out on the sidewalk smoking hookah's, drinking coffee and playing backgammon. By people, I mean men. There were practically no women out, and none in the coffee houses. It was a little disconcerting, but one of the things I liked was that men in Cairo walk arm in arm or holding hands, which you don't see back home. It's nice to be somewhere where men can express affection for each other--I wonder if the absence of women has anythign to do with it?
We stuck out like so many pasty sore thumbs and everybody was hissing at us, and all the cabs were honking and trying to get us to take a ride. We had to kind of fight everyone off, and it was a little frightening, but also fun and exhilerating to be some place so different from anywhere I've ever seen before.
The next day we got up late-ish and went to Coptic Cairo--a section of the city that has lots of old churches, most of which date from the twelfth century, although one dated from the third! That one was the Hanging Church, which was built on palm tree planks, suspended thirteen meters off the ground. There was a fabulous tour guide there who was nice enough to show us around and explain the symbolic meaning of the art and the carvings around the church.We also saw a synogogue (the first I"ve seen since coming abroad), but that was very heavily guarded and we had to walk through a metal detector to get there.
In the afternoon we went to a street bazaar, which was like something out the Arabian nights. People were trying to hawk things on all sides of us and there was massive amounts of everything you could possibly want (and an even more massive amount of things that you would never ever want--how many mini pyramids can you sell?). The merchants try and drag you in by complimenting you or starting a conversation. My favorite conversation starter is "Hey, are you Egyptian?" Which I think is really fnny because if they actually thought we were Egyptian they would speak to us in Arabic, and probably wouldn't ask us that any way. It would be like walking up to someone on the streets in America and asking them in French if they were American. Silly. I ended up buying a scarf, because along with forgetting the blog entries I had forgotten to pack any sort of head covering. After a fare bit of haggling we stopped in at a cafe called fishally's (or something like that--it was in arabic) which has been open for two hundred years and has never closed once. Ever. It's been open twentyfour hours a day for two hundred years--can you imagine? We ordered turkish coffee and a hookay, which I'd never tried before, but which I found quite pleasant.We had apple flavored tobacco, and it left a sweet taste in my mouth, though as it burned on it got stronger and then it was too much for me.
Well, I think I have to go as my time on this computer is about to run out. I've been taking lots of photos, but I wont be able to post them until I go back to London. Tonight we are going out to dinner at a restaurant Luke reccomends from last time. Things here are ridiculously cheap (It's twenty dollars for a four night stay in our hotel, which comes with a bathroom in the room and Breakfast included!) so we are living in a level of luxury I'm not used to, but could very easily become accustomed to. I'll tell you all about it next time.
We learned about backsheesh when we went to the pyramids yesterday. The pyramids were amazing but they are also a centuries old tourist trap--a fact which the numerous peddlers selling mini pyramids and post cards are eager to exploit. You just have to keep saying "la shokram, la shokram" (arabic for no thank you) over and over. The worst are the camel rides. According to the guide books camel rides at the pyramids are a huge racket, but there are tons of people riding about on camels asking if you want to ride or just take a photo. It's a lot harder to blow someone off when they are riding next to you on a dromidary.
Aside from the peddlers, though, the pyramids were beyond amazing. We left the hotel so early so that we could get there before the hordes (apparently most tourist buses get there at ten thirty, and since they only sell a limited number of pyramid entrances a day we desperately wanted to beat the crowds). When we got there it was about nine, and while we didn't exactly have the pyramids to ourselves, it was relatively easy to get tickets and get inside.
Going inside the pyramids was sooooooo cool. I fulfilled like twenty different fantasies that I had from lower school just by coming here, but stepping inside a pyramid beat them all. When we spoke to Cairo natives they all said that the pyramids were a huge let down, but I didn't find that at all. We had to go in in two groups because you are not allowed to bring your cameras inside, so half stayed out to watch the bags while the other half went in. I had heard that the passages were really small, and I had envisioned having to crawl into the pyramids, but the passages were tall enough that you could walk, even though you had to bend practically ninety degrees in order to fit. The slope into the pyramid is also really steep, so it feels dangerous and it probably is. One of our group had to turn back because she got so scared. Once you reach the end of the walkway you are in a dark, practically airless room. It was really hot inside, and really empty. There was a big square room with an (empty) sarcophagus at one end. We went into two pyramids, and for one of them (the great pyramid) we had the tomb area to ourselves. That was beyond amazing, and a little creepy.
The three great Pyramids are at Giza, along with the Sphinx and an ancient Egyptian boat belonging to Cheops. They were fun, but got really filled with tourists and peddlers really quickly. We also had kind of bad weather--it rained (in the desert!) for a bit of the day, and was cloudy and chilly for the rest. "This is just like London," my friend Caroline started to complain, but then caught herself and added, "you know, except for the sand and the pyramids." Oh, right.
After lunch, however, we drove down to Sakara which is another archeological sight. It wasn't as famous as Giza, but I liked it a lot better. There was practically nobody there--we saw maybe four other groups the entire time, and the site was amazing. There was a step pyramid, which we didn't go into but got to walk around, and there were ruins of temples in the area which we could walk in and around. Another site housed the temple of Titi, which contained amazing hyroglphics (the great pyramids were blank inside). It was fun to walk around and see everything, although we kept getting followed by this guy who claimed to be our tour guide, and eventually we had to give him a backsheesh so he'd leave us alone.
The other cool thing about Sakara was it was in the middle of the desert. I know that is taken for granted when dealing with pyramids and the like, but it was particularly vivid in Sakara, away from the hordes of people. You could actually see a line on the edge of the desert--on one side there was grass and palm trees and on the other just sand. There was no gradual change, it was reallly really vivid. Everyone said that they expected to smell the ocean, because when else are you surrounded by so much sand? But there was nothing but sand for miles and miles.
Tonight we are planning to go to a belly dancing show, which the guys are really excited about. I'm not looking forward to wearing a skirt because you attract more attention the nicer you are dressed (for girls) so getting there might be really uncomfortable, but the show should be fun. I'll let you know afterwards.
Hello all.
Check out kez 's latest blog to find out who's licensed to kill (almost!)
louiseinegypt posted a picture of the pyramids and surrounding landscape. Amazing :)
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