The Seven Wonders Of The Modern World: The Pyramids of Egypt

They say that "Man fears time...but that time fears the Pyramids." This is true because the Great Pyramids of Giza are the last of all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remain. In my mind, by building the Pyramids, the ancient Egyptians achieved what they aspired to: eternity. Not only for the pharaohs that they were intended for, but also for the ancient Egyptian culture itself. And when we see them, we become a part of that eternity.

I have been to and experienced the Pyramids three times in my life-the first time being at the age of 40 and the most recent time on my 53^rd birthday. I waited about 30 years to visit the pyramids the first time; I had been enthralled with ancient Egypt from the age of ten or younger.

I'm often asked what it's like to see the pyramids in Cairo: Do you drive out far to see them? Do you come upon them suddenly in the middle of one of the most crowded cities in the world? Or do you start seeing them gradually in the distance?

The answer is yes to all. But each time I visit the Pyramids, I try to remember how I can explain it to someone who has never seen them.

First of all, the Pyramids are located in the desert in a region called Giza which is just across the Nile River from modern Cairo. Yes, you drive there-or at least, you are driven in a taxi or by a tour guide if you're smart. You travel through congested traffic, throngs of modern Egyptians trying to cross in front of your vehicle without being killed and past mounds of uncollected trash crawling up the few trees that line the streets. Here and there on the horizon you catch sight of the monuments, and you ask repeatedly: It that it? Are those the Pyramids? And the amazing answer is yes. Yes, those are the Pyramids of Egypt.

The Pyramids and Me

Credit: Richard Weninger

Copyright: Richard Weninger