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The last wonder of the ancient world still standing

Monuments which speak for themselves. They are the only remaining wonder of the ancient world, comprising three pyramids built for three kings of Egypt predominantly during the 23rd century BC. The joy is in the scale and the precision of these elaborate resting places for the kings, with approximately 2.3 million blocks used to build the Great Pyramid alone.

Though the three famed pyramids are the star turn, the intrepid should also look elsewhere to some of the quieter monuments on site – there are a number of ‘Queen’s Pyramids’ nearby; far smaller than those of their husbands, as well as a couple of interesting underexplored museums such as the Solar Boat museum, in which the remains of a boat built for transporting the pharaoh through the heavens was excavated and displayed in all its glory.

The oldest and largest of the three pyramids, the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was originally built as a tomb over a 10-20 year period eventually ending around 2560 B.C. Standing at 146.5 metres (481 feet) tall, the Great Pyramid was then the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.

Although the Great Pyramids are now a stone’s throw away from the bustling city of Cairo, their commanding presence is still one that will leave you in awe and spell-bound and the age old question still remains on the lips of many – how were these great structures built all those years ago by man and man alone.

The enigmatic mythical Sphinx with the body of a lion and the face of a man wearing a royal head cloth, which workers may have based on King Khafre to guard his enormous funerary monument is another fascinating ancient wonder situated on the Giza plateau adjacent to the Great Pyramids.

In ancient Egypt the sphinx was a spiritual guardian and figures of the creatures were often included in tomb and temple complexes. Some scholars believe that due to the organisation of the pyramids and the Sphinx, there may have been a celestial purpose to the Great Sphinx and the temple complex, that is, to resurrect the soul of the pharaoh (Khafre) by channelling the power of the sun and other gods.

About a thousand years after the Sphinx was built it was covered in sand until a young prince had a dream in which the Sphinx told him that if he cleared the sand away, he would become Pharaoh. This story is told on the 'Dream Stela' that was placed between the Sphinx's paws by King Tuthmose IV.

The Explorations Company, where no two journeys have ever been the same

Flying Safaris in Africa - By Private Helicopter

Epic helicopter journeys exploring corners of Africa that few have been to or even ever heard of. We specialise in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, the Congo and Namibia. Our tailor-made safaris cover wild and spectacular mountains, valleys, forests and deserts, with a focus on ‘remote and unknown, unexplored and unforgettable’.

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore – Dream – Discover - Mark Twain - You can view clips of some of our own favourite discoveries here.


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- Established over 30 years ago we have been around longer than most

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As a guide, the cost of our extraordinary and utterly bespoke journeys tends to start from $1200 per person per day excluding international flights.

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Explore with The Explorations Company

By Marcela Kunova - 20th April 2017

Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. Citywealth caught ...

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