Located only few kilometers south of Cairo, Giza Plateau lies on the west bank
of River Nile. Known by the name of "The West" or kher neter, "the
necropolis", in ancient Egypt, Giza Plateau is popular throughout the world
because of the Pyramids.
Giza Plateau can be divided into two groups on the basis of the monuments.
The larger and the most important group consists of the Three Great Pyramids
related to Khufu, Khephren (Khafre) and Menkaure, the Sphinx. Located on the
ridge directing towards southeast, the second group include number of private
tombs of citizens of different classes.
It is the three Great Pyramids that make this site of Egypt noticeable but
Giza Plateau has actually been a Necropolis site since the time of Pharaonic
Egypt. Monuments of the larger group are made of limestone and were transported
to the present site while the tombs of smaller group are simply carved out on
the native living rocks.
The oldest known tomb of Giza Plateau is a mastaba that dated back to early
1st Dynasty but the main attractions of Giza are that three pyramids that stimulate
tourists to visit this sacred place of Egypt every year.
Beside of the pyramids Giza also houses a Solar Boat Museum that was constructed
over the site of finding of solar boats in 1954. Most of the structural monuments
at Giza plundered during the political unrest. That is why the exact vastness
of Giza can never be known.
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