Posted on 03/16/2009 7:29:36 PM PDT by AngieGal
Travelers to Egypt will soon be able to explore the inner chambers of the 4,500-year-old "bent" pyramid, known for its oddly shaped profile, and other nearby ancient tombs, Egypt's antiquities chief announced Monday.
The increased access to the pyramids south of Cairo is part of a new sustainable development campaign that Egypt hopes will attract more visitors but also to avoid some of the problems of the urban sprawl that have plagued the famed pyramids of Giza.
Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, said the chambers of the 330-foot-pyramid outside the village of Dahshur, 50 miles south of Cairo, will be opened for the first time to tourists within the next "month or two." "This is going to be an adventure," he told reporters.
Dahshur's bent pyramid is famous for its irregular profile. The massive tomb's sides rise at a steep angle but then abruptly tapers off at a more shallow approach to the pyramid's apex.
Archaeologists believe the pyramid-builders changed their minds while constructing it out of fear the whole structure might collapse because the sides were too steep.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Tomb - Ping
The problem is, they took it out of the oven before it finished rising!
Also known as the "Bill Clinton Pyramid"
I visited here many times when living in Cairo in the late 90’s. It was not ever officially opened to tourists but we just sort of snuck in driving across the desert. The adjacent red pyramid has a very interesting vaulted chamber. These two pyramids, the red pyramid and the bent pyramid, are much nicer to visit than the ones at Giza although the sphinx is really cool.
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Thanks Red_Devil 232. The AP/Google news version had Zahi "Zowie" Hawass saying this would be "an adventure". Yah. There's some risk that the whole thing will collapse and crush the tour groups who happen to be inside at the time. ;') |
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In before the ping
Are you telling me that the Alien Construction managers made a mistake? :)
13 seconds, drat!!
It’s not bent.
It’s just pinin’ for the fjords.
Surrealism Salamander
Djoser ping ...
This pyramid wouldn’t “voom” if you ran four million volts through it.
Well, in their defense, they usually build everything saucer-shaped.
Well, it would if it weren’t nailed to the bedrock.
A palindrome.
That’s got to have something do with Gaza I guess...
LOL.
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