Saturday, March 31, 2007

Mystery of Great Pyramid 'solved'

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6514155.stm

A French architect claims to have solved the mystery of how Egypt's Great Pyramid was built.

Jean-Pierre Houdin said the 4,500-year-old pyramid, just outside Cairo, was built using an inner ramp to lift the massive stones into place.

Other theories contend that the three million stones - each 2.5 tons - were pushed into place using external ramps.

Mr Houdin studied the problem for eight years and used a computer model to illustrate how he thought it was done.

"This is better than the other theories, because it is the only theory that works," said Mr Houdin as he unveiled his theory with a 3D computer simulation.

He believes workers used an outer ramp to build the first 43 metres (47 yards) then constructed an inner ramp to carry stones to the apex of the 137m pyramid.

The pyramid was built to house the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops.

The Grand Gallery inside the pyramid, another source of mystery for Egyptologists, housed a giant counter-weight used to hoist five 60 ton granite beams into position above the King's Chamber.

Jean-Pierre Houdin's 3D view of how the Great Pyramid was built
Internal counterweights also helped move the massive stones
"This goes against both main existing theories," Egyptologist Bob Brier told Reuters news agency after Mr Houdin explained his hypothesis.

"I've been teaching them myself for 20 years but deep down I know they're wrong."

Mr Houdin said that an outer ramp all the way to the top of the pyramid would have blocked sight lines and left little room to work, while a long, frontal ramp would have used up too much stone.

Further confusing matters, there is little evidence left of external ramps at the site of the Great Pyramid.


Mr Houdin said the pyramid could have been built by 4,000 people using his technique instead of 100,000, as postulated by other theorists.

The architect is now assembling a team to verify his theory on site using radars and other non-invasive means.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Some Old Pictures of Egypt

Nihal guided me to this site & it truly has some wonderful pictures

Check out this link http://www.egyptedantan.com/egypt.htm, it has a HUGE collection of photos for Egypt (Cairo, Alex, Luxor,,,), also I was very interested in the section of famous personalities ( Charles Baehler , Le Comte Habib pacha Sakakini, Safia Hanem Zaghloul pacha, Samuel Sheppheard) and the maps of Cairo
.... purely AMAZING!
Have a great day,
Nihal
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Moulid El Badawi

Literally, the word moulid means birth.

The Tanta moulid celebrates the memory Ahmed el-Bedawi, a local 13th Century Sufi saint.

Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam. Followers perform the zikr, chanting the name of God over and over again, at an ever increasing tempo. Some achieve a trance-like state.

About 3,000 moulids are held in Egypt every year. Part pilgrimage, part carnival, part mystical Islamic ceremony, they are a mass phenomenon that is increasingly attracting the attention of the Egyptian authorities.

Sufism has between six and seven million followers in Egypt, about 10% of the population.



From BBC

Check their site for more pictures

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