Ancient site · Giza
Giza Pyramids
The world's best-known ancient site: the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure and the Great Sphinx, on the Giza Plateau at Cairo's south-western edge.
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The story
The three great pyramids were raised for kings of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, roughly 2600 to 2500 BC: Khufu, then his son Khafre and his grandson Menkaure. Each pyramid belonged to a wider complex of two temples, a causeway, small queens' pyramids and tombs for nobles, and the Great Sphinx stands beside Khafre's valley temple. Excavations have also revealed the town and cemeteries of the pyramid builders. Khufu's Great Pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one still standing. The plateau lies within the UNESCO World Heritage site Memphis and its Necropolis, the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, inscribed in 1979.
Good to know
- The three pyramids span three generations of one royal family: King Khufu, his son Khafre and his grandson Menkaure.
- Khufu's pyramid remained the tallest building in the world for about 3,800 years before it was surpassed.
- The pyramids were not built by slaves but by paid Egyptian workers, and archaeologists have found their town and tombs beside the plateau.
- The Great Sphinx is about 73 m long and 20 m high, carved from the bedrock of the plateau itself.
- In 1954 a ceremonial boat of Khufu, about 43 m long, was found beside the Great Pyramid; it is now at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Visiting tips
Per the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities site: listed hours are 8:00 to 16:00, and area entry for foreign visitors is EGP 700 (EGP 350 students); it does not include entering the three pyramids. Please check hours and prices before visiting, as they can change by season.