Pyramids listen to music
Foreign tourists who visited the Great Pyramids of Giza in the last year, were slightly disappointed: the entrance to the most ambitious of them, the pyramid of Heops, was closed. Restoration work.
– Every visitor of the pyramid, and their number reached up to three thousand a day, extended twenty grams of fluid, "says the chief keeper of the pyramid, director of the Department of Antiquities Giza Dr. Zahi Havas. – The salts contained in it were settled on the walls, forming crystals, and they just ruined the soft stone. That is why the first task of the restorers just was to clean the walls of internal premises from salt crystals. The second task is to establish a ventilation system in the pyramid that was not before. Regular air exchange will reduce humidity and thereby keeps the walls from destruction.
Ancient Arab saying reads: "People are afraid of time, and time is afraid of the pyramids". But, as you can see, the cheops need a repair. After all, the builders of the pyramids did not foresee that in the distant future it will be precipitated by the imperceptible hordes of tourists from all over the world.
Together with the Minister of Culture Faruk Khosni – He also heads the Supreme Council of Egypt Antiquities – We are entering the pyramid. The main entrance is located on the northern side, at the level of the thirteenth row of stone blocks. But at the end of the IX century, our era Khalif Maamun, who dreamed of getting to the Treasure of Pharaoh, ordered the new entrance below, at the level of the sixth row of masonry. They now enjoy tourists.
The pyramid of Heops is the only one in which there is not one burial chamber, but three. One of them, intenseed, wounded in the rocky base under the pyramid. The second is already inside the pyramid, relatively low from the ground. The third, with the sarcophagus, is over the second. But why one person is three funeral cameras? "The first, underground, corresponds to the traditions of the Egyptians, – explains the CHAVAS. – But on the fifth year of his reign, Heops committed a real religious revolution. He stated that he was the son of the RA RA already during his lifetime, and not only after death, as it was previously thought, and to raise himself, ordered to make a new funeral chamber – above the Earth. However, from the point of view of architecture, the choice of space for this camera was unsuccessful, and then they made one more, third".
Lower funerary camera is first open for tourists. To get into it from "Passage Maamuna" It is necessary to overcome 125 meters cool descending down a narrow corridor. Restorers changed wooden flooring and lighting – however, as in other premises of the pyramid.
To the second burial chamber, you need to rise, not descend. The path is significantly shorter – only 36 meters. But the passage height does not exceed the meter, so you have to bend into three deaths. Overcoming then a horizontal 35-meter corridor height almost in human growth, we fall into the burial chamber. For some reason, she is known as "Camera Tsaritsa", Although the satellites of the life of Pharaoh were their own small pyramids.
From the beginning of the horizontal corridor, there is another, inclined, length of about 50 meters and a height of over eight. At the end of it – a horizontal eight meter passage of a meter is a height leading to the Pharaoh’s burial chamber, decorated with granite slabs.
Faruk Hosni for the first time discovered the three venel tomb visits, located on the south side of Heops, not far from the museum of the funeral boat of this pharaoh. It must be said that the Plateau Giza is not only a pyramid, it is an extensive necropolis with hundreds, if not thousands of tomb know. Perhaps the most interesting of the three new attractions of Giza Tomb of the Priest Szeme-Nebel, the main court doctor. He lived about four and a half thousand years ago. The tomb is made in the form of a traditional Mastaba, that is, a low-rise building with a flat roof. Interior premises are decorated with reliefs. And the burial chamber is located underground.
Go down from the plateau down, to the large sphinx. For the first time, the Sphinx temple is open to visit, located right at its front paws. Only the walls are preserved from the temple, but they are impressive. The main thing is that this is the only one of the old Egyptian temples dedicated to this day, dedicated to the Sun. In it, two altars are Eastern, where they prayed at sunrise, and Western, where they prayed at sunset. Scientists argue that there were 24 columns in the temple – by the number of hours in days. But they are not all preserved. I note that it was the ancient Egyptians that divided the year for 12 months to 30 days in each day – for 24 hours.
So in Giza you can see not only the pyramids, but also tombs and temples – outstanding architectural creations of the ancient and forever living Egyptian civilization.
No better festival prices
The second annual Festival of Trade and Tourism began this week. He takes place in Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada and Luxor and last until August 20. At the time of the festival, prices for accommodation in hotels and some other travel services, various products are significantly reduced. Egyptian airline "Igypet Ayr" lowered tariffs for monthly flights on international lines and by 20 percent – tariffs on internal lines. Extensive cultural program festival. The first-such festival took place last summer attracted tens of thousands of tourists, mainly from the Arab countries and the CIS.
Cottage of the last Egyptian king Faruk in the city of Heluang, not far from Cairo, turned into a museum. A two-story building in the shape of a ship facing feed to the Nile was built in 1942 and surrounded by an extensive garden. It is interesting to inspect the interior of the building, furniture made by the sample of the one that was found in 1922 in the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamon, numerous art objects. But the museum raisin is a collection of 379 dolls in national costumes of different countries. They were donated to the king during his foreign visits. Faruk was overthrown as a result of the revolution "free officers" Rovno 47 years ago, July 23, 1952. This day has become the national holiday of Egypt.
Karnak spoke our
Performance "Sound and light", demonstrated every evening in the magnificent carnak temple of Luxor, from now on you can hear in our. Recorded him in Moscow Professional actors. At the time of the highest heyday of ancient Egypt during the period of the new kingdom (XVI – XI centuries. to N.NS.) Luxor, called the inclination, was the capital of the country, and the Karnak Temple dedicated to God – his main temple.
In this house, the Creator every Pharaoh honored himself with his son and wanted to leave a memory. During the twenty centuries, something was added, exhausted, alone and destroyed the creation of even more grand. This is the amazing intricatement of facades and transitions, sites and corridors, prospects and bends.
Performance "Sound and light" In Karnak goes in our every Wednesday in 20.00 (until October) and in 18.00 in winter time (from October). Let me remind you that "Sound and light" In our, the Great Pyramids of Giza can be seen on Sundays at 20.30 (18.30 in winter time).
Every night at the same hour
In contrast "Sound and light", which every night passes in different languages from the pyramids of Giza, concerts there are non-specifics and always become an outstanding event not only for the Egyptians themselves, but also for numerous foreign tourists. Last time such a concert took place on June 20. Almost two thousand spectators warmly welcomed soloists, a large choir and an orchestra from Germany who performed the German composer Karl Orfa "Carmina Burana". The concert organized the Ministry of Tourism of Egypt with the assistance of Egyptian and German companies.
