There are only a handful of historical landmarks all over the world in existence or preserved, and one of them is located in the magnificent land of Egypt. The Pyramid of Khufu or more popularly known as the Great Pyramid of Giza, is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as it is clearly a masterpiece heralded all over the world. Of the said Seven Wonders, it is the only one which has been left standing and intact.
Built by the Egyptians in 2584 – 2561 BC, the Great Pyramid of Giza was erected during the time of Egyptian Pharaoh, Khufu, which was why it was also known as the Pyramid of Khufu. The largest and by far the oldest pyramid in the Giza Necropolis, this man-made structure is considered the tallest edifice for the past 3,800 years. Also situated in the Giza Necropolis is the equally well-known Great Sphinx.
It is important to know that there are three chambers inside the Great Pyramid, namely, the bedrock underground, the Queen’s Chamber, and the King’s chamber which is made of pure granite. It was believed that the pyramid was erected for the purpose of serving as the tomb for Pharaoh Khufu. However, it was also believed that the pharaoh had no intention of letting any of his wives use the queen’s chamber as he had his own selfish reasons for having the Queen’s Chamber constructed. The pharaoh wanted to immortalise his status. The structure gains worldwide prominence as the only pyramid known to have descending and ascending pathways. It took exactly 20 years to erect this edifice which originally stood at 482 feet. Throughout the years, the structure had shrunk to 456 feet attributable mainly to normal wear and tear. The building consists of exactly 2.3 million stone blocks which weighs around 5.9 million tons.
True to form, this masterpiece is situated at the center of the earth’s land mass. It is the only pyramid that was built with its four faces being slightly concave. Built to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes, the foundation of the Great Pyramid was constructed with ball and socket joints to deal with these unfortunate disasters. The erection of this stone masterpiece is a reflection of the ingenuity and persistence of the Egyptian builders as they have built a structure which has already withstood the test of time, despite being exposed to serious risk factors. This piece of architecture showcases how precise and accurate the measurements were when the same was being constructed. It is quite clear that the Egyptians did much research and homework on the construction of this edifice with its perfect precision as engineers and architects are baffled as to how accurate the Egyptians were in constructing this man-made pyramid. Up to the present, the Great Pyramid of Giza leaves tourists in awe and also serves as the proverbial yardstick for architects and engineers in the construction of strong and sturdy buildings.
