Why do we visit Pyramids?

“From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

For centuries pyramids have attracted both curiosities and invaders alike. Now that invasions have stopped and curiosities have been partly fed, it attracts millions of

travellers each year.

But what is so fascinating about these stacked blocks in a conical shape that so many

people are enchanted to visit the harsh deserts of Egypt to get a good glance at this

structure?

It is the mystery that surrounds the construction that captivates historians and tourists

alike. What were pyramids built for? Who built them? Were they just burials or

something more than that?

Mastabas, or bench-shaped mounds, were used as the early Egyptian monarchs'

tombs. Imhotep, King Djoser's architect, constructed the first pyramid around 2780 BCE

by stacking six mastabas, each smaller than the one below, to create a pyramid that

rose in steps. This Step Pyramid is located at Sakkara, close to Memphis, on the

western bank of the Nile River. It has a number of rooms and tunnels, including the

king's burial chamber, just like later pyramids.

Khufu, also known as Cheops, the later Greek form of Snefru's name, erected the Great

Pyramid at Giza, the largest and most well-known of all the pyramids.

A real, but squat-appearing pyramid was created at Dahshur by building a second great

pyramid there with its sides rising at an inclination of slightly more than 43 degrees.

The Pyramid Texts, a significant repository of knowledge about Egyptian religion, are

inscriptions found on the walls of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids. However, due to

the absence of historical records, it is challenging to be certain of the specific burial

practices or the uses of all the structures in the pyramid complex. The king's body is

believed to have been transported by boat up the Nile to the pyramid's location, where it

was likely mummified at the Valley Temple before being interred.

Pyramid construction has given rise to rumors. The rather soft stone may have been cut

using the copper chisels, drills, and saws that the Egyptians had at their disposal. A

more challenging issue would have arisen from the use of hard granite for the walls of

the burial chambers and some of the outer casing. The orientation of the pyramids to

the cardinal points required astronomical knowledge.

Whether some things remain clear or not, one thing we know for sure is that these

glorious figures were not just mere burials, but were built for future generations to know

and acknowledge these emperors’ existence, their power, their prestige, and their

splendor.

Today, like many historic structures, the pyramids of Egypt stand strong and high to tell

us all a tale of history and from time to time give us all a detour from our daily lives to

stop and admire what stands behind us is equally mysterious and ravishing as what

stands ahead of us.