Among the marvels of Egypt perhaps the Sphinx is second to none. The mysterious being with the head of a man and the body of a lion is not at all uncommon in Egyptian architectural adornment, but the one placed before the Second Pyramid (the Pyramid of Shafra), and supposed to be contemporary with it, astonishes the observer by its gigantic proportions. It is known to the Arabs as Abul-hôl, the father of terror. It measures more than one hundred feet in length, and was partially carved from the rocks of the Lybian hills. Between its out-stretched feet there stands a chapel, uncovered in 1816, three walls of which are formed by tablets bearing inscriptions indicative of its use and origin.A small temple behind the great Sphinx, probably also built by Shafra, is formed of great blocks of the hardest red granite, brought from the neighbourhood of Syene and fitted to each other with a nicety astonishing to modern architects, who are unable to imagine what tools could have proved equal to the difficult achievement. Mysterious passages pierce the great Sphinx and connect it with the Second Pyramid, three hundred feet west of it. In the face of this mystery all questions are vain, and yet every visitor adds new queries to those that others have asked before him.
5 comments:
Nice place!
Salah...the Sphinx is so majestic. I amazed as how the acient ppl built such enormous architectural structure. It awed me! Beautiful and so breathtaking!
you wanna know also that they build it in the form of human face , elephant ears and lion body !! to make him as a GUARD to protect the THREE PYRAMIDS..!
OIC..is these Sphinx for protection purpose or they are also for burial?
yeah they built it to protect and be a guard for those three kings in their three pyramids..
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