Monday, March 26, 2007

Dahshur--The Red Pyramid

Snefru!

Bless you. No, no, not that kind of Snefru. Snefru was a king. You know, a pharoah. 4th Dynasty, for those who keep up with that sort of thing.

He was the father of Cheops, whose Great Pyramid is the tall one that everyone is familiar with. But Snefru should be famous too, because he got it right and then Cheops improved on his basic idea.

There had been step pyramids before, like the one at Saqqara, but Snefru was keen to make a smooth one. He tried first with the Bent Pyramid (more on that tomorrow). That didn't exactly work out, so he started again, this time producing what is commonly referred to as the Red Pyramid.

I don't think the Red Pyramid looks so red either, but apparently the limestone in the core is reddish.

I recommend a visit to the Red Pyramid because no one was there but the odd new agers and Dr. Hawass. But I don't recommend going inside unless you are prepared to be sore for three days. Apparently it's my quadriceps that are unhappy with having scurried along hunched over down a 27-degree slope for 206 feet. Craig and Jake weren't real happy either.

 
        

1 comment:

Marie Javins said...

Yippee! The old quadriceps seem to be in tip-top shape this morning. I think I'll go climb a pyramid.

No, actually, my next mission is hair color on my regrowth. Put on a blindfold, turn a circle, and pick one of the hairdressers recommended on some website... hope it doesn't come out orange or punk-rock-bleach-blond.

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