What's
it like inside an Egyptian pyramid?
Let me show you...
My father and I traveled to Egypt in November 1995. We visited Cairo and the Giza plateau where the three great pyramids of Cheop, Chefrens and Mykerinos are situated, as well the great Sphinx, that got badly abused by the bored soldiers of the Napoleon army. Having nothing better to do they practiced shooting at the poor Sphinx’ nose!
When our guide told us
we could enter the pyramid of Cheops, if we wanted, I was rather amazed.
I hadn’t counted on that. She, however, also warned us; it would
be no easy climb to get to the center of the pyramid. It would mean, more
or less, hunching over and scrumbling steeply upward through a narrow
passageway, 3.5x 4 feet wide, for 128 feet! Once you've started the climb
there would be no turning back until you entered the Grand Gallery. From
there it would mean going back the same way, but backwards and downwards!
The place, she warned, was definitely not for anyone claustrophobic, with
a bad back or bad knees, or a weak heart. To be rescued from the inside
was no easy task! What more, she told us: it smelled like hell in there!
Having heard this I reminded myself of being a bit claustrophobic and having had trouble with my back, so I and my dad who is a very tall man and who was 68 years old, decided for our guide’s easier suggestion; we would only enter the pyramid and then go back out again before the steep climbing stairs began. In that way we would, at least, be able to say we’d been in there!
However, once we got in there, we couldn’t stop! The feeling of actually being inside one of these old pyramids, built with human manpower, 2700 years BC, overwhelmed us and we started the climb. After all - why would the pyramid fall apart now, when it had already been standing there for a good 4600 years? The climb was definately not easy! The stairs were very steep and the tunnel very narrow. There was no way you could stop for a rest as there were people before you and people coming after. Meeting people going downwards was almost impossible, but necessary, as it was the only way in/out. We struggled on upward and finally reached the Grand Gallery.
Entering
the Gallery I paused, and was completely stunned. It was magnificent!
Roughly rectangular, 9 meter high and 47 meter long (approx 160 feet long,
36 feet high, 10 feet wide), the Gallery continued upward with a 45 degree
angle. The atmosphere of it was just fabulous. From the foot of the gallery
was another passageway leading horizontally in to the Queen Chamber. This
passageway was 1.55 x 1.55 m (approx. 5x5 feet). Having recovered from
the crawling, I bent over and went through the 35 meter (115 feet) long
passageway into the chamber where I could just about stand upright. The
Queen Chamber is 5.7 x 5.2 meters (approx 17 x 19 feet) and it's roof
is raised at the center to 6.13 meters (approx 20 feet). The room was
very empty.
Back at the foot of the Gallery, my father was waiting to tell me he would not continue the climb to the King’s Chamber, but would wait for me. I started upwards once more. At least I was now able to go upright, but it was still steep and my knees felt like jelly when I finally got to the upper platform of the Gallery.
Gazing back down was so magnificent! I brought out my camera and took the above picture. The use of a flash was prohibited, so I didn’t expect a picture to actually come out, but wanted to give it a try. I’m glad I did. You can see the absolutely perfectly matched, huge blocks of stone on the walls. And remember these were placed by humans, no machines! Just to build this Gallery, let alone the whole pyramid - what a deed they did in those early days!
From the upper platform there was a short and narrow passageway leading into the King’s Chamber, which was a large, high and perfectly rectangular room. The room is 34 x 17 feet and it's 19 feet high. It's got a 2 to 1 proportion and so has the only thing in the room, which is a lidless, empty sarcophagus. Once more I brought out my camera and tried for a photograph. It was quite dark except for some electric lights attached to the walls. It was very hot in there, so I did not stay long before I once more went through the tunnel and started for my climb down the Gallery to the lower platform.
My father had tired
of waiting, so I started the tougher crawling out through the narrow and
steep tunnel on my own. It was just as hard - perhaps even harder - to
go backwards and down. The people going head forward down were having
real trouble, bending their backs backward while moving. I went for the
somewhat easier crawl and went with my feet first, downward.
The Cheop pyramid, in which we were, was found empty. It is believed that it has been plundered, like most of the pyramids, but also that there was in fact never a king buried in this particular pyramid. The pyramid was originally 147 m high.
What an experience it was to be inside that pyramid! I’m so glad I went through with it and even though it was tough both my father and I gladly recommend you to go in there if you’re ever in Cairo and get to visit the great pyramids!
And - it didn’t smell too bad! Our guide just wanted to warn us enough to put any doubtful people off from going. Our knees were however rather sore for several days, from all the climbing...
PBS has a great website about the pyramids. Check it out!
This page was last updated 1999-02-10
© Sonja Wakefield
http://hem1.passagen.se/nightwin/egypt/epyramid.htm