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Pyramid
of Khufu
Egypt
Why this ancient Seven Wonders pyramid is special
The pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) is the largest, oldest
and only true surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World. It was built in the 26th century BC.
Interesting tidbits about
the pyramid of Khufu
It held the world's tallest man-made structure title for over
4400 years until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was built.
The base area of Khufu's pyramid is equal in size to that of six
big-city blocks. Most of the chiseled stones used to build this
pyramid are as big as small pickup trucks.
The rugged exterior we see today on Pharaoh Khufu's tomb was
originally covered by a beautiful smooth limestone surfacing.
That valuable material was subsequently filched by later rulers
for use on their own buildings. This lowered the height of the
pyramid by about 5% to its current height of 138 meters (456
feet). It also shortened its base width.
It was once legal to climb Khufu's pyramid (as I and many other
travelers did years ago). Today, the government prohibits
climbing out of concern for visitor safety and possible
vandalism.
Khufu's pyramid has three burial chambers - the upper (where he
was put to rest), the middle (called "Queen's Chamber") and the
lower (carved out of the solid rock below the pyramid).
The lower burial chamber may have been a decoy to confuse tomb
robbers.
The "Queen's Chamber" is a misnomer - it was designed for the
pharoah's burial use, but was eventually abandoned in favor of
the bigger upper burial chamber. His queens were buried in three
small stand-alone pyramids at the base of his pyramid.
Little is known about Khufu the man. Archeological evidence of
his existence is quite skimpy.
Many current printed sources state that the pyramid of Khufu
required 100,000 slaves and took 20 years to complete. Those
figures are derived from writings of the 5th century BC Greek
historian Horodotus. He wasn't qualified to give those numbers
because he lived 2,000 years after Khufu's pyramid was built and
he didn't have the benefit of modern archeological knowledge.
In reality, it took fewer years and workers to build Khufu's
pyramid than Horodotus guessed. Moreover, the workforce
consisted not of slaves but mainly of local peasants who needed
income when the annual Nile flooding prevented them from farming
their riverside plots. Their belief in the divine status of
their pharaoh Khufu was added motivation.
اهرام مصر (هرم خوفو)
هرم
خوفو بزرگترین هرم در بین اهرام مصر است ,این بن ا که
قدیمی ترین و بزرگترین بنا در بین عجایب هفتگانه می باشد
تنها بنایی است که در حال حاضر وجود دارد . هرم خوفو در
2600 سال قبل از میلاد ساخته شده است . این هرم بلندترین
بنای ساخته دست بشر از 4400 سال پیش تا سال 1889 بود ,
زمانیکه برج ایفل با ارتفاع 300 متر ساخته شد. محدوده هرم
خوفو باندازه 6 قطعه زمین شهری عظیم می باشد . بیشتر
سنگهای بکار رفته در این بنا به بزرگی سنگهای عظیمی هستند
که بوسیله کامیون حمل می شوند. سطح خارجی زمختی که ما
امروزه از این هرم می بینیم مقبره فرعونی به نام خوفو بوده
که درآن زمان پوشیده شده از سنگهای آهک صیقلی و زیبایی
بوده است . فرمانروایان بعدی این سنگهای با ارزش را
متعاﻗﺒﺄ برای ساختن بناهای خودشان می دزدیدند. این عمل
باعث شد که از ارتفاع هرم 5 درصد کم شود و به ارتفاع فعلی
اش که 138 متر است برسد . هرم خوفو دارای سه اتاق دفن
اجساد است . اتاق اول محل دفن شاه , اتاق دوم محل دفن ملکه
و اتاق سوم که برای رد گم کردن دزدان هرم بوده است .
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