Giza

The pyramids of Giza were built over the span of three generations - by Khufu, his second reigning son Khafre, and Menkaure. At Giza the pyramid reached its climax and the standard features of the Old Kingdom pyramid complex - the mortuary and valley temple - were expanded and formalised.

Go on a virtual tour of the three pyramids of Giza, and explore the interior of the largest of them all - the pyramid of Khufu. (To view this animation you need to have a Shockwave plugin loaded on your computer - if you do not have it, click here to download it.)

Why not embark on a Grand Tour of the Giza Plateau, where you will be able to walk around the majestic Sphinx and enter the Pyramid of Khufu from the comfort of your home.

When you visit the photo gallery, among other photos of the Pyramids, you will see a selection of photos depicting the Son et Lumiere which has added immeasurably to their fascination. Each night, the performance is held in a different language, and is the most fascinating way to begin your acquaintance with the great monuments.

Nothing is as moving as when a spectral voice comes over the sands and beings the Son et Lumiere display.

'You have come tonight to the most fabulous and celebrated place in the world. Here on the plateau of Giza stands forever the mightiest of human achievements. No traveller, emperor, merchant or poet has trodden on these sands and not gasped in awe. The curtain of night is about to rise and disclose the stage on which the drama of a civilization took place. Those involved have been present since the dawn of history, pitched stubbornly against sand and wind, and the voice of the desert has crossed the centuries.'

Or again when the Sphinx speaks for the first time:

'With each new dawn I see the sungod rise from the far bank of the Nile His first ray is for my face which is turned towards him and for 5,000 years I have seen all the suns man can remember come up in the sky...'