"Welcome to Ancient Egypt" a Pyramids of Giza Travel Page by dgines

There are over 200 pyramids in Egypt, but the most famous are the Pyramids of Giza. When the pyramids were built on the barren Giza Plateau, the capital of Egypt was Memphis, some 13 miles to the south. (There isn't much evidence of this capital, which existed prior to the capital moving to Upper Egypt in Luxor. See my Memphis page.) The foundations of Cairo--a dozen miles east of the Pyramids--would not be laid for another 3,500 years. Today, the suburbs of Cairo have crept to within a few thousand feet of the famous ancient burial grounds.

Although his son Khafre's pyramid appears taller (due to the site's elevation), at 481 feet tall Pharaoh Khufu's pyramid, built in 2550 BC, is the tallest of the pyramids--ten feet taller from base to point than Khafre's.