"Pyramids of Giza in 1962 and Now... " a Pyramids of Giza Travel Page by atufft

The Pyramids of Giza were mostly ignored and partly buried under the sand dunes until the early 19th century when Europeans reacquainted themselves with the monolithic strutures. Since then, time, tourism, and demolition have heavily eroded them, and given the current encroachment by the metropolis that is Cairo, one wonders how long they can last. In their around-the-world-cruise during the early 1960s, my aunt and uncle stopped in Cairo and visited the Pyramids of Giza. At that time, the pyramids looked much as they do today, with the marble skin long since torn off and used to build 19th century Cairo. At that time though, there was very little in the way of fencing around the Sphinx, and anyone could climb the pyramids at any time, day or night, and camel ride vendors were relaxed waiting in line with neatly kept and ornate saddles. It's hard for me to imagine how my uncle tolerated the heat, wearing a tie and jacket for the occasion, or how my aunt managed wearing a dress and 3" healed shoes.

Most documentary films and books show the Sphinx from the ground looking up, or from the air looking across the head of Chephron, so when we saw the absolute size it up close and personal we were a bit disappointed. However, the Sphinx does look very OLD. The wear and tear that this 50 century old carved sandstone monument has taken must be considered amazing. However, much of the wear and tear is during just the last few centuries. Although the dry climate does have preservative effects, tourists have been visiting it since ancient times. The nose, however, fell off some time long in the past, and not by the canon of the Turks or Napoleon as is popularly supposed.

Cairo has since grown around the monuments of Giza, on one side at least. There is a wonderful night light show at the pyramids now that didn't exist during my relatives visit in 1962.