Real-Life Photos of Egypt for Young (and Old) Egyptologists

Our family had the privilege of visiting Egypt (we stayed in Giza and visited Cairo & Saqqara) in 2009, when our children were 7, 5, 3, and 18 months.  Here are some pictures that share the size and scale of pyramids, tombs, and treasures we viewed up close.

I am sharing them for the enjoyment of Egyptologists young and old (and perhaps, homeschool moms, to aid in your teaching times about Ancient Egypt-- many of the pictures show well the size and scale of these ancient places).

(Unfortunately we could not take pictures inside of the Cairo Museum & thus things like chariots, mummies, and Tutankhamen's mask are things we viewed but do not have pictures of.)

On a platform beside the Sphinx, with the Great Pyramid directly behind it.

In front of the middle pyramid at Giza:

Here we are at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which seems to infinitely stretch upward (click on each picture to see a large version- you'll be amazed at the scale of the blocks):

The boys actually climbed up into the Great Pyramid with Doug, climbing up a shaft to the Gallery & Burial Chamber for King Khufu (also called Cheops):

It's quite an incredible thing to be walking around in Giza and glance up to see the only remaining wonder of the ancient world:

One funny fact:  Did you know that the Great Sphinx now stares directly across the street at a Pizza Hut?  It's true!

A picture taken from our balcony in Giza. Such a view!!

We enjoyed watching the sunset behind the pyramids on the first night of Ramadan 2009:

I like this picture because it shows the scale of the Sphinx in comparison to the pyramids.  Open it in large view and look just above the buildings, almost directly below the point of the middle pyramid.  That is the head of the Sphinx.

Later in our trip we were able to visit Saqqara and Dashur and were able to go into three different tombs-- an overseer's, the King's butcher's tomb (this is us--in the underground tomb-- with wall carvings/statues of 5 of his 10 sons):

 and then here is us crawling through an underground shaft of a third tomb!

The kids all had a great time exploring and checking out this awesome site.

Saqqara is pretty much the center for information/archaeology for Egypt's Old Kingdom (the dynasties of Egypt that ruled roughly 5,000 years old).

There were other sites, near the ones we went down into, that had not yet been dug out-- literally, hieroglyphic-covered stones sticking up right out of the sand, like this one:

We enjoyed imagining what it would be like to dig it out and discover what lay inside.

Being 3, 5, and 7, they had fun playing in the dirt too. :)

Inside of one tomb (The Tomb of "Ti" for anyone who's interested), the walls were COVERED with "daily life" sort of hieroglyphics... truly breathtaking.

Here is 18-month-old Silas and I, in front of the Step Pyramid:

I hope you enjoyed this peek into Egypt.  We were so grateful to be able to visit such a historical place!