The Pyramids of Giza: What 4,500 Years Looks Like Up Close

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World. It was the tallest structure on earth for 3,800 years. It contains an estimated 2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing between 2.5 and 15 tons. None of that registers until you are standing at the base of it.

The Sphinx sits 1,300 feet to the east. It is 240 feet long and 66 feet tall, carved from a single ridge of limestone. The face is thought to be that of Pharaoh Khafre. It has been eroding for four millennia and will continue to erode for however many more follow.

The photographs from Giza that work are the ones that deal honestly with scale. The Great Pyramid print frames the structure from ground level with enough sky above it to communicate what it actually feels like to stand there. The Sphinx print is frontal, direct, and lets 4,500 years of expression do the work.

Both are available in the Egypt collection, along with the Pyramid Scheme framed print. Posters start at $15. Free shipping on orders over $80.

Giza is about 30 minutes from central Cairo. The site opens at 8am. The camel handlers are persistent but the pyramids are worth it.