Giza Plateau, Egypt

The Pyramids, Giza Plateau

Ancient Egyptians came up with inventive ways of burying their dead, preserving them for the afterlife. Starting with Mastabas, this method “burial chamber method” quickly changed and evolved to the building of the Pyramids. There are thought to be over 100 pyramids across Egypt, but the most famous are the pyramids on the Giza Plateau. These three pyramids sit next to each other on the edge of the ever encroaching, sprawling city of Cairo, and were built for Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. They are impressive to say the least and it’s quite overwhelming to stand in front of them and imagine how they were constructed.

Khufu and Khafre’s pyramids
Pyramid of Mycerinus in Giza
Menkaure’s pyramid
Khufu’s pyramid

Roads now wind their way around the plateau leading visitors from the pyramids, to high desert views and back to the funerary buildings and tombs. There are satellite pyramids by some of the main pyramids – these are smaller pyramids dedicated to the wives and other family members of the Pharaohs. There is also a small museum next to one of the pyramids that houses a boat called the Solar Boat that was found in a pit close on the site. It is thought to have belonged to Pharaoh Khufu.

Satellite pyramids
Rock cut tombs

On the Giza plateau  there is also a range of interesting funerary buildings, the Great Sphinx, Sphinx temples and a causeway that leads from the Sphinx to Khafre’s pyramid. The site is also home to three cemeteries; the Great Western, Eastern and Southern Cemetries where skilled workers who built the pyramids were laid to rest and a workers village.

Funerary building
Funerary buildings

Situated at the end of a causeway that leads to Khafre’s pyramid is the Sphinx, a well known monument the Sphinx is mythical depiction with the head of a human and body of a lion. Between it’s feet sit a stele, called the dream step, that is said to record a dream that Tuthmosis IV had about becoming Pharaoh.

The causeway
Pyramid of Chephren and Sphinx
The Sphinx and pyramid

The Giza Plateau is fascinating, as it shows how Egyptian life worked thousands of years ago. How workers were looked after, both in life and death, and how important it was to pharaohs to show that in death they would be remembered for ever. Thousands of years later, tourists still visit the plateau and gaze in awe at the pyramids, taking in the surroundings. I feel privileged to have visited them and I was shocked at the sheer size of them, it’s something you can’t really understand until you see them for yourself.

Wind Across the Nile 


The book description:

Can she survive where her ancestors failed?

Suffering with grief after the tragic death of her family, Cora Thomas flees to Egypt, desperate to escape the overwhelming loss.

In Luxor, she meets gruff Egyptologist Nick Foster who wants little to do with her, and his employee Sam, who instantly becomes a much sought-after friend.

As she settles into life along the Nile, discovering the country’s vast history and culture, Cora learns about the contents of an old diary discovered in her parents’ home. As the diary’s story unfolds, it reveals hardship, love, tragedy and a potentially life-threatening family feud spanning generations.

From the rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands to the ruinous sands of the Egyptian desert, Wind across the Nile is a story of unbreakable family bonds, adversity and self-preservation.

Wind Across the Nile is available on ebook and paperback.


Chrissie is an author who loves history and enjoys travelling and days out exploring.

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