Informal Politics:
Street Vendors and the State in Mexico City by John Cross.
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The Complete Pyramids by Mark Lehner |
Informal Politics:
Street Vendors and the State in Mexico City by John Cross.
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The Complete Pyramids by Mark Lehner |
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Between two mountains we arrive at the pyramids of Giza in our little car. The pyramid in the background is actually the largest pyramid in Egypt--the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). |
| Another view of the Pyramid of Khufu, one of the original "Seven Wonders of the World", here seen from the front of the site. In front of the pyramid, of course, is the Sphinx--a Lion with the head of a Phaoroe. The material on the top of the pyramid is all that remains of the original outer casing, which was made of red granite brought down from Aswan (about 800 miles away by river) on barges. Succesive generations of rulers stripped this layer of rock off to use in Coptic and Islamic churches, mosques and especially palaces, exposing the still impressive local stone. By the way, the guy at right is my brother, Lloyd. |
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A camel ride is almost obligatory at the pyramids - according to the local camel drivers at least. This camel shows the world how fond she is of her master, while John, Alex and I look on. |
| Here we are on the same camel as a school group goes past behind us. It looks like Becky better move fast if she doesn't want her hat to end up as lunch! Or maybe that camel just wants another kiss? |  |
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You cannot leave the pyramids without at least one photo with your loved one in front of one of these magnificent edifices. You probably know that the Egyptian pyramids were built as tombs for great kings who lived about 4,000 years ago. The oldest pyramid is the pyramid of Dashur, which is over 4,500 years old. It seems strange that thousands of people would spend their whole lives building a tomb for one man, but this was a way by which the ancient Egyptians showed the importance of their rulers--and thus showed the power of their whole society. It worked--we are still impressed today. |
Well, heres another one, taken by Alex. By the way, there are many good books about the pyramids. The Complete Pyramids by Mark Lehner has some great pictures and a simple discussion of the history of these buildings. Some people think that, because they are so big and so well made, the pyramids were made by aliens. But besides a good knowledge of math, all that was necessary to build them was a LOT of time and patience--something perhaps we don't have too much of today. The largest pyramid took over 30 years to build with the effort of tens of thousands of people working together. |
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| And finally, the obligatory group shot, in this case taken from the desert plateau overlooking the pyramids and the city of Cairo behind them. |  |
| The Informal Family in Maadi | The Informal Family visits Giza |
| The Informal Family at Saqqara | The Informal Family in Alexandria |
| The Informal Family in Aswan/Luxor | The Informal Family In Sinai |
| The Informal Family on the Red Sea | The Informal Family in Egypt |
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Please!!! ...send me comments or questions! |
