Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids.

An Arab proverb

The pyramids of Egypt have fascinated people since time immemorial. The finest of these are the pyramids of Giza located on the outskirts of Cairo. The Great Pyramid. It is the only one among the ‘seven wonders of the ancient world’ still standing.

However, since the past few years, International best-selling author Graham Hancock is of the view that the pyramids of Giza are much older than what the traditional Egyptologists would have us believe. According to the Belgian author Robert Bauval, the layout of the pyramids of Giza mirror the pattern of the three stars in the constellation of Orion as seen in the sky in 10,500 BC.

One of the most famous visitors to the pyramids of Giza was Napoleon Bonaparte. He was spellbound when he saw the Great Pyramid. He asked to be left alone for one night inside the King’s Chamber which is located 140 feet above the ground inside the Great Pyramid. When he came out, the following morning, he looked visibly shaken and refused to talk about it. Years later, on his death bed, when somebody asked him what had happened then; he replied “No, what’s the use. You’d never believe me.”

No one is allowed to climb the pyramids of Giza. Earlier this year, Vadim Makhorov, a photographer from Russia and his friends caused a stir when they climbed the Great Pyramid.

A different view has been emerging- the Great Pyramid is surely not just a tomb, if at all a tomb. Incidentally, no mummified body has ever been found inside it.

Until 1889, it was the tallest building in the world. The Eiffel Tower which came up in Paris, later that year, surpassed its height.

The entrance through which the visitors get into the Great Pyramid, today, is not the original approach. They make their way through the gaping hole which Caliph Al Mamoun had made when he broke in 820 AD.

Orthodox Egyptologists say that the Great Pyramid was built circa 2500 BC as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu.

According to the Belgian author Robert Bauval, the layout of the pyramids of Giza mirrors the pattern of the three stars in the constellation of Orion as seen in the sky in 10,500 BC.

Open, every day, from 8.00 AM to 11.00 AM and 1.00 PM to 4.00 PM. Only 300 people are allowed to go inside the Great Pyramid on any given day.

Source: The Hindu