Pyramids

9/6/2010

My bucket list is just a little shorter today.  We made a surprisingly short drive from metro Cairo to Giza to see the Pyramids.  The whole thing really just blew my mind—it's just surreal.  You're driving down the freeway, you look over to your left, and there they are.  Right there.  And just as massive as you expect them to be. 

When we got into the "park," I just stood there, completely stunned.  A little overwhelmed.  I mean, what else can you do when you go to the pyramids but just stand there in awe?  I was dumbfounded—emphasis on the "dumb."  And I'm okay with that.

The pyramids at Giza are over 4000 years old.  They are massive.  Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, they're the only ones left.  Looking at them, even in the "ruined" state they're in today, it's easy to imagine how magnificent they were in their heyday.  Even the huge stone blocks that were the base and sides of the structure fit together meticulously, and each pyramid was completely covered in gleaming white alabaster to reflect the desert sun. 

 

We descended into one of the nearby queens' pyramids.  The (backwards) climb down was awkward and pretty claustrophobic, but well worth it—I mean, I've been inside a pyramid… and I have the pictures to prove it!

The Sphinx is nearby, and we totally could have walked to it… but why walk when you can ride a camel?  Again, it's one of those things that's awkward and not exactly comfortable, but absolutely worth it!  My camel driver, who led my camel on foot, tried several times to climb up and ride with me, but, um, no such luck.  He asked if I had a husband, and I said yes without batting an eye.  (I think of it as less of a lie and more a statement of faith.  I have a husband—I just haven't met him yet!)  Our little caravan of 13 camels went around the back of the 3 famous pyramids and came out just below the Sphinx.  He's a lot smaller than you'd expect… but he's still stinkin' cool.

I know the pyramids and the Sphinx were man-made.  And they were built as part of a totally pagan system of worship.  Which makes me sad.  But the truth is, these things are mind-blowing.  And even more mind-blowing is the thought that ancient people created them with very primitive tools.  Even today, with all the resources we have, it would be nearly impossible to recreate these structures.  And yet, they did it.

Almost as astonishing to me is the idea that God gave the ancient Egyptians the knowledge and skills they needed to create the Pyramids.  No, they didn't worship Him.  They didn't even acknowledge Him.  They took the knowledge and understanding of the world around them and worshipped people and false gods instead, just as He knew they would.  But He gave them these breath-taking skills and ideas anyway.  He didn't have to.  Knowing they would worship the sun and everything else under it, the Creator God could have chosen to vastly limit what he Egyptians could do.  But He didn't.  It's the definition of grace.