The Sphinx and the Solar Boat Museum

To the south of Khafre's Pyramid sits a huge creature with the head of a human and a lion's body. The Great Sphinx is believed to be the most immense stone sculpture in the round ever made by man. The Sphinx is made out of limestone and was under renovations while we were there. It was surprisingly much smaller than I had imagined, but awe inspiring nonetheless.

Our final destination was to the Solar Boat Museum. It was fascinating! In 1954, a boat, over 120 feet long and made entirely of cedar wood, was discovered at the base of Khufu's Pyramid when the ground was cleared for a tourist road to be put in. Forty slabs of limestone were discovered set in the ground with the pieces of a complete boat arranged in 13 layers. The boat was laboriously removed from its pit, piece by piece, and in 1958 reassembling of the 1224 pieces began. It took 10 years to complete. No nails were used in the construction and the planking was assembled through an ingenious system of stitching through holes with ropes of vegetable fibers. When the wood was swollen by water the ropes would tighten and make the boat watertight. Spectacular. The museum was built at the same spot where they found the boat.

After our half-day tour, Mohammed dropped us back off at the hotel where we had lunch and napped. We spent the evening exploring the area around the hotel, dodging traffic and playing "chicken" in the road with our lives, and letting the girls eat dinner at none other than KFC.