The majestic city of Cairo, capital of Egypt, is considered the largest city in the Arab world of Africa and the Middle East. This metropolis is the eleventh most populated city in the world, with approximately 16 million inhabitants. It is the most populated metropolitan area of the entire African continent, it is located on the banks of the Nile River, south of the delta. It was founded in 116 BC and became a sovereign capital in 1922.
Cairo, in Arabic, means Al-Qahira, name that is due to the Fatimids who baptized the city, also called by citizens as “the mother of all cities” and the “city of a thousand minarets”. This city is a great tourist power for its historical places such as the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, the beautiful Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun and the incredible Pyramids of Giza, built by pharaohs, located to the southwest of the capital as the Great Pyramid of Cheops, Khafre and Micerinos.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops is one of the 7 oldest wonders in the world and is the largest of the pyramids of Egypt. Its original height is 146.50 meters and currently has 136.86 meters. The pharaoh Khufu, of the fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt, was the one who ordered its construction and the person in charge of this work was architect Hemiunu. Its construction is believed to have been finished around 2570 years before Christ.
The pyramid of Kefrén was built next to the pyramid of his father Cheops, in the XXVI century.In ancient times it was believed that this pyramid was higher than the Cheops’, however this was because it was located in a place more levelled with the Ghiza plateau. Their faces are more inclined to the “Egyptian sacred angle” that are also used in some pyramids at present. Remotely, its height was 143.49 meters, now it is 143.48 meters high, which makes it higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Finally, there is the pyramid of Micerino known at the time as “Divine Pyramid” with a height of 64 meters. It is the smallest of the three pyramids of the Necropolis of the Giza Plateau. The pharaoh of the fourth Menkaura dynasty ordered the construction of this pyramid. At present, the pyramid is stripped of almost all its coating, so we can observe the regular courses that make up its core. Near the base are some parts of the granite from its original coating. Al-Aziz Uthman, son of Saladin, created a large opening towards the center of the north face, with the purpose of using the tomb as a possible reef of stones already worked.
After thousands of years of planning, Cairo became the perfect destination for lovers of archeology, its pyramids full of mysteries have become an emblematic witness of the history of the legacies left by the most prodigious and representative ancient Egyptians. When in Egypt, do not miss this beautiful city full of historical monuments of humanity.
ALFA