Around the World in 80 Stories: Story number 19...

Phileaus has been in Egypt for a few days now and it has been boiling! Egypt is in Africa, although the culture is very different to other regions. Most fascinating of all is it's Ancient culture, the culture of the Ancient Egyptians who worshiped a vast array of Gods and Goddess around whom their life depended. Egypt is the 15th most populated country in the World...so you can imagine how many tales Phileaus has been told, both mythical and religious.
What is Egypt most famous for?
Arguably the pyramids, triangular shaped tombs that were cleverly crafted by the Ancient Egyptians to mark the burial of an important figure called a Pharaoh. There are about 80 pyramids know today to have existed from Ancient Egypt.

Here is a map of Egypt with the main historical points marked on:

Image taken from: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/ancient_egypt_map_colouring_page.htm

You heard yesterday how Phileaus is saving his best Ancient Egyptian story for the Fairlop Fair, but in the meantime, here is a story about the building of a pyramid.

Story Number 19

This story takes place in ancient Egypt (2540BC), when a pharaoh called Khufu was planning his place of burial, a pyramid, way before his death. The placement of a pyramid was to be on the West side of the river Nile, as this is where the Sun set each night. It is common for pyramids to be placed here. Each one of the four sides of a pyramid faces North, South, East and West. The architects of the pyramids were incredibly clever and knew how to build it so that it would last over time and many pyramids have even lasted for centuries and can be seen by us today!

Before Khufu's pyramid was built, the exact measurements were marked in the sand, each one of it's four sides facing North, South, East and West. The pyramid was to be the biggest in recorded history.

Enormous stones were dragged by men across the vast desert sand, can you imagine how difficult this job must have been in the Egyptian desert heat! Building a pyramid works in layers, first one level of rock is placed and then another on top. The higher levels were reached via ramps. The block at the top of the pyramid was made from a special material, such as gold. The outside of the pyramid was covered in white limestone before it was marked as finished. After 20 agonizing years, the pyramid was built and what a triumph! The pyramid sits in a complex of smaller pyramids and other tombs. It incorporates 2.3 million stone blocks, weighing an average of 15 tonnes each.

In the pyramid is three burial chambers. The first is underground, carved into bedrock. The second, the Queen's Chamber is above ground and the third, the King's chamber can only be accessed by an 8 meter high grand gallery!

Here is a picture of the pyramid: