Egypt, reliant on the lifeblood of the Nile, remains the richest of living museums. Until you visit, it is hard to imagine the scale and sophistication of its antiquities. An extraordinary abundance of temples, monuments and tombs peopled by the ghosts of pharaohs decorate the Nile River. These pharaohs were divine rulers whose dynasties ruled for almost 30 centuries from 3100 BCE. Their epic architecture asserted their absolute power. But how were these massive structures built, without iron tools and long before the pulley was invented? Tree trunks laid side by side to roll the limestone across the desert is a theory for the smaller blocks. Recent research shows the Egyptians used sledges to haul the bigger blocks across water-saturated sand (water allows sand to clump and reduces friction). And how did they transport the stone, quarried 800 kilometres away? In ancient times, the Nile’s floodplains enclosed the monuments, enabling engineers to build canals directly to the pyramids. It is thought exterior or interior ramps enabled workers to raise the blocks into position. These workers were not slaves but skilled artisans, well rewarded.

Seventh Wonder of the Ancient World

A traveller to Egypt must sail the Nile to truly appreciate the ancient wonders. Without this life-giving waterway, there would be no Egypt, no enduring culture and no priceless artefacts. The three Pyramids of Giza near Cairo are a fitting introduction. The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) has stood for 4,500 years, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is 138.8 metres high and 230.4 metres long at each base, using 2.3 million limestone blocks, some weighing up to 70 tonnes.

Design of Pyramid

The stairway to the king’s chamber bears the weight of 6.5 million tonnes of limestone –enough to almost ring the Equator. Air shafts provide ventilation and there are anti-crush chambers. Never again would pyramids be built to this scale, though the pyramid shape remained sacred, representing the ascent to the sun and eternal life. The pharaohs’ tombs provide archaeologists with a detailed understanding of how ancient Egyptians lived –drawings and hieroglyphs detailing city life, agriculture and religious symbolism.

The Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza –human head, lion body –is Egypt’s oldest monumental sculpture, thought to be at least 4,500 years old. Egypt’s Old Kingdom pharaohs favoured Giza and the delta for their tombs. The New Kingdom pharaohs, concerned about looting, chose Luxor’s Valley of the Kings and Queens –64 tombs so far have been unearthed, including Tutankhamun’s.

Luxor

Luxor, formerly Thebes, ancient Egypt’s powerful capital, 650 kilometres south of Giza, possesses two-thirds of the ancient world’s monuments. These include the two Colossi of Memnon, representing Amenhotep the Magnificent. One colossus ‘sang’ at dawn like a mysterious oracle, drawing Roman emperors (dew evaporating in cracks is the simple explanation).

Karnak Temple and the Temple of Horus

Karnak Temple complex near Luxor, dedicated to Amun-Ra and Mut, is the world’s largest religious building by area, bigger even than Cambodia’s vast Angkor Wat temple complex. Three Notre Dame cathedrals would fit within the great inner temple. Further south along the Nile, the Temple of Horus at Edfu is Egypt’s best-preserved ancient temple, beautifully conserved by desert sand. Each of these monoliths represents not just the mastery of science and engineering, but also the complexity of Ancient Egyptian culture, so influential to succeeding civilisations, particularly Greece and Rome. See the Egyptian masterpieces for yourself on our Treasures of Egypt & the Nile with Hidden Jordan.

Words: Alison Stewart