The Pyramids & Sphinx of Giza in Egypt

There are endless clichés and statistics associated with the Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza: the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, as old as Stonehenge, and the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, to name but a few. However, it’s only when you stand between the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre, craning your neck to see their summits and picturing them dazzling white in their original limestone cladding, that you can really appreciate why these ancient tombs have fascinated and captivated people from the moment they were built. Facing away from the Pyramid of Khafre is the Sphinx with its slightly smug and knowing expression. A stone Mona Lisa, it is immediately apparent why it has inspired all manner of myths, riddles and legends. Today, standing on the edge of the Giza Plateau with the suburbs of Cairo curling around their base on one side and the sands of a vast, echoing desert stretching to the opposite horizon, they remain a place that everyone should try and see once in a lifetime.