Great Sphinx of Giza
Mysterious Monolith Monument
Standing on the Giza Plateau on the west side of the Nile River is the colossal monument of the mythical creature the Great Sphinx. With modern Cairo nearby, the Great Sphinx of Giza is one monument that welcomes millions of visitors per year. Standing 73.5 metres (241 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide, and 20.22 m (66.34 ft) high, it is the largest monolith statue in the world.
123EgyptTours.com will take you on a tour to one of the worlds most enigmatic and mysterious mystical creature in the world. We provide you with daily tours to the Giza Plateau visit the available itinerary for the best tours around.
History of the Sphinx
Even if the Sphinx is known to be the largest and one of the oldest statues in the world yet not much facts is known about the sphinx. To this day many historians debate about the real origin of the sphinx, or who was the model of the face and what its real purpose is. It is believed to have been constructed during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra during the old kingdom.
Because no known name was given to this statue, there were many speculations on what its original name is. The name sphinx was coined only in the Classical antiquity which is about 2,000 years ago by reference of the Greek mythological beast of a lion’s head, a human body and the wings of an eagle. The sphinx as found in Egypt has a body of a lion and the head of an unknown pharaoh believed to have been of Khafra.
For a time after the Giza Necropolis was abandoned, the great Sphinx of Giza was buried up to its shoulders in sand. There were many attempts to excavate the sphinx from that of Thutmose IV, up to the first modern excavation supervised by Italian Captain Giovanni Battista Caviglia, who was successful in uncovering the chest completely. The entire Sphinx was finally excavated in 1925 to 1936, in digs led by Émile Baraize.
Visit the Giza Necropolis
There are many things to discover in Egypt and one of the best monuments to see is the great Sphinx in the Giza Necropolis where you will not be only awed at the large pyramids but as well as many other monuments.
123EgyptTours.com offers daily tours to the Giza Necropolis. Check our website for some of the most detailed itineraries.
