Page 25 - Dispatches - June 2022
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Left: The Hypostyle
Hall at Karnak
Temple is comprised
of 134 sandstone
columns, with the
central 12 soaring to
69 feet in height.
of them in the new museum—everything It’s difficult to wrap your head around just how The age of the
from his jewels, chariots, throne, gold mask, old—or how big—they are. When Christ was Pyramids is
and sarcophagus to everyday objects like born, the Pyramids were already 2,000 years
his walking sticks, loincloths, boomerangs, old. That means Christ’s birth is closer in time probably summed
games, and even few of his healthy snacks to us than it is to the building of the Pyramids. up best by an
like coriander seeds and juniper berries. How can that be? Five centuries earlier, the ancient Arabic
And for the first time ever, the contents of Greek historian Herodotus stopped by the saying: “Man
the boy-king’s tomb will be displayed in the Pyramids for a visit—although the “father of
precise order that the British archaeologist history” got a few things wrong in his travel fears time, but
Howard Carter unearthed each priceless relic journal. Writing about the hieroglyphics time fears the
in the Valley of the Kings exactly a century adorning the massive structures at the time, Pyramids.”
ago. he said they represented a tally of the garlic
and onions consumed by workers during their
The world’s first construction. Some say he was just pranked by Tough Boats: Egypt
tourist attraction some local guides—and it wouldn’t surprise
me; I got taken in a few times on my own visit.
Even if most of Egypt’s ancient tombs and The age of the Pyramids is probably summed
temples were still buried deep beneath the up best by an ancient Arabic saying: “Man fears
desert sands, the Pyramids of Giza are reason time, but time fears the Pyramids.”
enough to visit. They certainly have a proven As far as big goes, the 481-foot-high Great
track record. It’s not just that they’ve been Pyramid of Khufu was the tallest man-made Drift down the Nile
attracting travelers for hundreds of years— structure in the world for more than 3,000 with our host Holly
plenty of countries can make the same boast years. The streak finally ended with London’s Morris aboard Egypt’s
of a monument or two. The Pyramids have Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1221 C.E.—which most legendary
amazed and mystified travelers for thousands took 200 years to complete, and only beat the boats.
of years. Pyramid by eight feet. Details remain sketchy, Watch Video
but Khufu’s Pyramid was built by stacking
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