Cheops (Khufu) خوفو
As you might be aware, Pyramid of Cheops is the biggest pyramid on earth, As a matter of fact seing it in real could scare you alot more than it would entertain you!. True, specially when you see it from a distance, i felt i want to go home when i first saw it,anyway...
Before you go there, you must be warned that the place might be too hot to you, I would call the place around it a desert, though there are large modern buildings in Giza and fancy Hilton hotel, but the very surrouning area could make you feel you are still living in 2560 BC! except if you are going there in a fancy Mercedes or Hummer, I would rate it as 10/10 if it was in Hawaii, but the desert would make me go back like 9/10, though many people would like the desert more, but anyway... there you can see alot of Bedouins with camels, but still you will see cars, modern people the part of life you were trying to escape from, but anyway let's talk a little about the Pyramid itself...
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt in Africa, and is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is believed to have been built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (hellenized as Χεωψ, Cheops) and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC. It is sometimes called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
Khufu was the son of King Sneferu, and Queen Hetepheres. Unlike his father, Khufu is remembered as a cruel and ruthless pharaoh in later folklore. Khufu had nine sons, one of whom, Djedefra, was his immediate successor. He also had fifteen daughters, one of whom would later become Queen Hetepheres II.
It is generally thought that Khufu came to the throne in his twenties, and reigned for about 23 years, which is the number ascribed to him by the Turin Papyrus. Other sources from much later periods suggest a significantly longer reign: Manetho gives him a reign of 65 years, and Herodotus states that he reigned fifty years. Since 2000, two dates have been discovered from his reign. An inscription containing his highest regnal year, the "Year of the 17th Count of Khufu", first mentioned by Flinders Petrie in an 1883 book and then lost to historians, was rediscovered by Zahi Hawass in 2001 in one of the relieving chambers within this king's pyramid. Secondly, in 2003, the "Year after the 13th cattle count" of Khufu was found on a rock inscription at the Dakhla Oasis in the Sahara. See this photo which contains Khufu's name enclosed in a serekh and the aforementioned date.
It is generally thought that Khufu came to the throne in his twenties, and reigned for about 23 years, which is the number ascribed to him by the Turin Papyrus. Other sources from much later periods suggest a significantly longer reign: Manetho gives him a reign of 65 years, and Herodotus states that he reigned fifty years. Since 2000, two dates have been discovered from his reign. An inscription containing his highest regnal year, the "Year of the 17th Count of Khufu", first mentioned by Flinders Petrie in an 1883 book and then lost to historians, was rediscovered by Zahi Hawass in 2001 in one of the relieving chambers within this king's pyramid. Secondly, in 2003, the "Year after the 13th cattle count" of Khufu was found on a rock inscription at the Dakhla Oasis in the Sahara. See this photo which contains Khufu's name enclosed in a serekh and the aforementioned date.
He started building his pyramid at Giza, the first to be built in this place. Based on inscriptional evidence, it is also likely that he led military expeditions into the Sinai, Nubia and Libya.
The Westcar Papyrus, which was written well after his reign during the Middle Kingdom or later, depicts the pharaoh being told magical tales by his sons Khafra and Djedefra. This story cycle depicts Khufu as mean and cruel, and is ultimately frustrated in his attempts to ensure that his dynasty survives past his two sons. Whether or not this story cycle is true is unknown, But Khufu's negative reputation lasted at least until the time of Herodotus, who was told further stories of that king's cruelty to his people and to his own family in order to ensure the construction of his pyramid. What is known for certain is that his funerary cult lasted until the 26th Dynasty, which was one of the last native-Egyptian royal dynasties, almost 2,000 years after his death.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheops
The Westcar Papyrus, which was written well after his reign during the Middle Kingdom or later, depicts the pharaoh being told magical tales by his sons Khafra and Djedefra. This story cycle depicts Khufu as mean and cruel, and is ultimately frustrated in his attempts to ensure that his dynasty survives past his two sons. Whether or not this story cycle is true is unknown, But Khufu's negative reputation lasted at least until the time of Herodotus, who was told further stories of that king's cruelty to his people and to his own family in order to ensure the construction of his pyramid. What is known for certain is that his funerary cult lasted until the 26th Dynasty, which was one of the last native-Egyptian royal dynasties, almost 2,000 years after his death.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheops
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles. One of the small pyramids contains the tomb of queen Hetepheres (discovered in 1925), sister and wife of Sneferu and the mother of Khufu. There was a town for the workers of Giza, including a cemetery, bakeries, a beer factory and a copper smelting complex. More buildings and complexes are being discovered by The Giza Mapping Project.
A few hundred metres south-west of the Great Pyramid lies the slightly smaller Pyramid of Khafre, one of Khufu's successors who is also commonly considered the builder of the Great Sphinx, and a few hundred metres further south-west is the Pyramid of Menkaure, Khafre's successor, which is about half as tall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
A few hundred metres south-west of the Great Pyramid lies the slightly smaller Pyramid of Khafre, one of Khufu's successors who is also commonly considered the builder of the Great Sphinx, and a few hundred metres further south-west is the Pyramid of Menkaure, Khafre's successor, which is about half as tall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
