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The Great Sphinx:
The
Great Sphinx, or as the ancients knew it, “Shesib Ankh” or “the living
image”, has to be one of the most recognizable
constructions in history. Think of the Sphinx and you automatically
think of Egypt and the Giza Plateau.
Sculpted from soft sandstone, many believe that it would have
disappeared long ago had it not been buried in the sand for so many long
periods in its lifetime. The body is 60m (200ft) long and 20m (65ft)
tall. Its face is 4m (13ft) wide with eyes measuring 2m (6 ft) high. It
faces the rising sun, and was revered so much by the ancients, that they
built a temple in front of it.
The
18th Dynasty King, Thutmose IV installed a stele between its front paws,
describing how, when Thutmose was a young Prince, he had gone hunting
and fell asleep in the shade of the Sphinx ‘s head. Thutmose had a dream
where Ra Hor-Akhty the sun God, talking through the Sphinx, spoke to
him, telling the young Prince to clear away the sand because the Sphinx
was choking on it. The Sphinx said to him that if he did this, he would
become King of Egypt .
Thutmose cleared away all the sand and s after 2 years, the god
fulfilled his promise to the price and he was made king of Egypt
Today,
part of the “uraeus” (the sacred cobra at the forehead ), and the nose
are missing (not shot off by Napoleon’s men as many believe, but were
destroyed by Muhammad Sa'im Al-Dahr, a Sufi fanatic from the Khanqah of
Sa'id Al-Su'ada.
In
1378, upon finding the Egyptian peasants making offerings to the Sphinx
in the hope of increasing their harvest, Sa'im Al-Dahr was so outraged
that he destroyed the nose!). There are parts of a beard in the Cairo
and British Museum in London which reputedly belong to the Sphinx, but
many Egyptologists deny this, as the style of beard found, does not
relate to the “nemes” that The Sphinx wears – different Dynasties!
Sphinx,
legend is another tale worth to be heard. Whilst, you are in this great
area don't forget to pay a visit to the step pyramid known as the
pyramid of Sakkara, and ask your guide to show you the Hb-sed court and
tell you its story. At night time pyramids sound and light show is to be
held in a nice laser show.
Because
of the soft sandstone, the Sphinx has been repaired many times;
sometimes the repairs causing even more damage! Also, due to the wind,
humidity, and pollution from modern Cairo, its condition is still
deteriorating, and the present renovations are a never-ending task.
The
great Sphinx, with the body of a kneeling lion and the head of a man,
was built during Cephren's time. Indeed, the Sphinx's face is thought to
have been built in the image of Cephren's. Unfortunately, much of this
monument has either been eroded or deliberately destroyed over the
years. Facial features such as the nose and the beard are no longer
intact. A number of excavations have been carried out in modern times to
remove sand that had built up around the Sphinx and, for a time, kept
much of it buried. During the reign of the Modern State, the Sphinx
represented the God of Sun. It was worshipped, and pilgrims came to
visit this holy statue. It was then called "Hour -Om-Khet", which means
"Horus on the horizon". Thousands of years have passed, yet the Sphinx
is still kneeling gracefully in its exact position, looking thoughtfully
towards the East with a smile calm, mysterious and hopeful. The three
Giza pyramids and the Sphinx are Egypt's
number one tourist attraction.
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