Last of the Great Pyramids in Egypt
by Mark Tisdale
Title
Last of the Great Pyramids in Egypt
Artist
Mark Tisdale
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
Of all the places I visited in Egypt, it's the pyramids for wichi I most wish I had allowed more time in my visit. A short morning spent there was enough time for the average tourist, but for anyone with a deep desire to wander and photograph these ancient monuments, days would not have been enough time to explore the different angles on these amazing ancient monuments.
But this view from a distance of the last great pyramid is one of my favorites. I love the lines in the foreground and the small handful of people in the landscape before the pyramid. It feels so lonely and it really evokes that feeling of an ancient site that was itself the end of an era. The Egyptian Pharaohs were being entombed in pyramids before the three built on the Giza Plateau near modern day Cairo, but it was these three that were the pinnacle of that period. These were the largest and likely grandest. And after the last pyramid of Pharaoh Menkaure, Egyptian society began to shift away from the practice. More pyramids were built but not as large or as well built. Possibly part of the reason was that even these pyramids were looted. Perhaps there was a change in the society at well, but later pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings near modern Luxor.
So when one is standing there, you're looking at the waves of change that wash inexorably across every civilization, new or old. One way of life lost, a new one begun...
Note: The great pyramids on the Gizah Plateau are the only surviving wonders of the ancient world. And of course, this ancient status alone would be reason enough for their designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Uploaded
December 15th, 2012
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