Egypt - one of the major Arab states. Geographically, Egypt belongs to two continents: it is located in the north-east Africa and the Sinai Peninsula, which is in Asia. In the west, Egypt borders Libya to the south - with Sudan in the East - with Israel. In the north by the Mediterranean Sea to the east - Red.
Area of the country is about 1001450 sq. km Most of it (96%) is desert and only 4% - the fertile land along the banks of the Nile, the longest river on earth (its length - 6671 km). Geographical picture of Egypt identifies five major types of terrain: the Nile delta, the valley of the Nile, the Arabian Desert, Libyan Desert and Sinai.
The greater part of Egypt is almost uninhabited desert plateau, less than 10% - Delta and the Nile Valley. To the west of the Nile are the endless plains rocky Libyan desert. Large areas in the Libyan desert sands busy. To the east of the Nile Valley there are expanses of the Arabian Desert, which is a plateau, dissected by numerous deep ravines - wadi. Most of the Sinai peninsula is a desert plateau Et quiet. In the south of the peninsula mountains. In this part of the country is the highest mountain in Egypt Gebel Catherine (2,637 m).
Pyramid of Khufu
Inside the pyramid of Cheops no inscriptions or decorations. Yet her visit left a lasting impression. The existing entrance to the pyramid leads to the tunnel, done by the robbers, who is only 17 meters from the ground. If you are prone to claustrophobia, better wait outside comrades: you have to go through a very narrow passage. After the bifurcation of the same corridor leads to the first burial chamber - a large gallery, located at a depth of 30 meters under the ground. Another corridor, going horizontally, resulting in the second burial chamber, called the Queen's Chamber. Large gallery height of more than 8 meters in length and 47 m belongs to the true masterpieces of Egypt. Its walls are gradually converge upwards, with a number of units of each project above the lower level to 6 cm length it seems endless, as its polished walls and floors reflect the light of electric lamps installed recently and illuminates the room. This effect rectangle entrance completely lost sight of.
The exact purpose of this structure is unclear. A corridor leads to the royal burial chamber, where now stands the red granite sarcophagus, without lid. It has no decorations, no inscriptions. Judging by the size, he was placed in a cell in the process of building a pyramid. Its length is 2.24 m, width 0.96 m from the person for whom it was intended, not a trace. Highly effective ventilation system, linking the northern and southern sides, lets refresh the air inside the room, which is very useful during the flow of tourists. Above the ceiling, composed of nine granite blocks, weighing 400 tons, are five intermediate rooms designed to facilitate phenomenal load, which should bear the burial chamber. We must not forget that the total mass of the pyramid is about 7 million tons! At the top of these cameras archaeologists Wiese and Perring in 1837, found the only thing that belongs to the attributes of the pyramid: written in red ink cartouche of Pharaoh Khufu. This is the only inscription, which is preserved
in the whole pyramid. To the east of the pyramid of Cheops are two recesses in the form of boats, where there were a rook and three additional pharaoh pyramid: the south was the burial place of Queen Henutsen, daughter of Sneferu and blood sisters Khufu Meritetis buried in the middle, and the third was built in honor of the mother of the pharaoh Hetep-herses . Due to the fact that this grabnitsa been looted after the death of the queen, Khufu ordered built for his mother's secret tomb, carved in the rock just to the north. Pharaoh is so well managed to hide the tomb of the queen, it was only discovered in 1925 by American archaeologist George Reisner. It was found funerary objects, now on display in the Cairo Museum.
The Great Sphinx of Giza, the Arabs invented the name Abu Hall, or "Father of Terror", is a world famous monument, carved out of solid rock. He did not just hit travelers of different times, but also makes an impression on fans of science fiction and archeology, which consider this building product sverhdrevney civilization that disappeared over a thousand years before the construction of the pyramids and will not leave other traces.
Sphinx
- a statue of 57 meters long and 20 m high, 4.1 m width of the face, facial height of 5 m - depicts the pharaoh, which combines the power of man, God and the lion. At the same time, the head of the Sphinx believe necropolis guards, he was identified with the god Horus. In fact, although the monument certain atmosphere of mystery surrounds the Sphinx does not carry the secret or the key to the knowledge of the lost civilization vanished. He was cut down from a mountain ledge, which consists of three material formations, one of which - marly limestone, which forms the basis of the Giza Plateau, was subjected to wind erosion and has rough outlines the sculpture before it touched him man.After a thousand years after its creation in 1550-1397 gg. BC Sphinx has been buried under the sands of the desert. The stele, located between the front paws of the Sphinx, carved story. It describes how to hunt here young prince Thutmose asleep in the shadow of the stone body. In the dream came to him in the image of the Sphinx Mountain and predicted future prince accession to the throne and asked to release him from the sand. When Thutmose was a few years on the throne under the name of Thutmose IV, he remembered the dream and provided the first restoration. Apart from natural erosion, the most serious damage caused Sphinx Mamluks, who recaptured his nose shot out of a cannon (Muslims are extremely negative attitude to the image of man). The statue was finally cleared of sand in the middle of the 1920s.