The Pyramid Mystery

The pyramids of Egypt stand as a testimony to their culture, lifestyle and religion. The pyramids have always been a mystery to people of other cultures because of their unusual size and strange structure. To our amazement, many of these structures have endured the test of time, weather and attacks by other countries.

Egyptians from ancient times believed that when a pharoah died, he became the king of the dead or Osiris. The new Pharaoh would automatically become the god of the heavens and protector of the sun god. The sun, with its rising and setting each day, was the symbol of life to the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed that a part of the pharoah's spirit would continue living within his dead body. Therefore, they believed that the corpse had to receive proper care in order to allow the new pharaoh to be able to carry out his duties as the king of the dead. Each pharaoh was then mummified in order to preserve his body for the afterlife. They also put food, furniture, gold and other materials in with the body so that he would have them in his afterlife.

Not all Egyptians tombs were pyramids. Before they began building the pyramids, their tombs were carved out of bedrock and a flat roofed structure was placed on top. Sometimes, they covered the tops with mounds of dirt. It is possible that the shape of the pyramid evolved from these tomb mounds. Another theory is that the pyramids were modeled after the sun's rays. They believed that the pharaohs could reach heaven through the sunbeams bouncing off the top point of the pyramids.

While we often see pictures of slaves or foreigners building the pyramids, excavations prove that the workers were other Egyptians who lived in nearby villages. They were under the supervision of one of pharaoh's men. The people from these villages worked as butchers, bakers, brewers and possibly even some sort of health care facilities. Pharaoh also had permanent workers that were hired exclusively for the building of the pyramids.

With an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 workers, it took over 80 years to build the pyramids. It is believed that this occurred while the Nile River was flooded. The huge limestone blocks were able to be moved down the Nile right to the base of the quarries because of the flooding. The stones would then be polished by hand and put into their correct place with the use of ramps.

It still remains a mystery as to how the exact shape of the pyramids was achieved. It is strongly believed that man-power alone could not have done this. The workers possibly used ropes to line the stones up correctly and maybe even other pulley type devices to acquire the desired location of each block.

While some questions have been answered by achitects and archeologists, there are still many mysteries surrounding the pyramids. The beautiful edifices stand as a remembrance to the strong culture and religion of the ancient Egyptians. Tourists are especially drawn to the pyramids because they are so mysterious. It's truly amazing to consider the amount of time, work and dedication that went into the building of such amazing, beautiful monuments.


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For fun and excitement in the Middle East, you will enjoy the Egypt trips and Nile cruises. Both of these tours will take you to parts of the Middle East where you can soak in the culture, mingle with the people and enjoy some time to rest and relax. Visit our website for more information.