All things dread Time, but Time dreads the Pyramids
- Anonymous proverb

 

For millions of people the Pyramids epitomize ancient Egypt: no other monument is so instantly recognized the world over. Yet comparatively few foreigners realize that at least 97 pyramids are spread across seventy kilometres of desert, from the outskirts of Cairo to the edge of the Fayoum. The mass of theories , claims and counter-claims about how and why the Pyramids were built contributes to the sense of mystery that surrounds them. Some of the recent contributions to this debate include The Orion Mystery (1994), in which Robert Bauval asserts that the orientation of the Giza Pyramids corresponds to the three stars in Orion's Belt, and the "ventilation" shafts in the Geat Pyramid were aligned with Orion's Belt and Alpha Draconis. Graham Hancock took this a stage further in Fingerprints of the Gods (1995), arguing that the entire pyramid field corresponded to an astronomical map. In later books he says that the Sphinx and Pyramids are far older than reckoned, and recall a vanished ur-civilization that was destroyed in 12,000 BC, having left its stamp on Angkor Wat, the Maya and Easter Island. Egyptologists have since been lining up to refute these theories; meanwhile you can read up on the latest crop - including some that figure Martians into the equation - at www.nauticom.net/users.ata/egypt.html.

Most visitors are content to see the great Pyramids of Giza and part of the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara , both easily accessible from Cairo (tours to Saqqara often include a visit to the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis ). Only a minority ride across the sands to Abu Sir , or visit the Dahshur pyramid field. Still further south, the dramatic "Collapsed Pyramid" of Maidum and the lesser Middle Kingdom pyramids of Hawara , El-Lisht and Lahun are easier to reach from the Fayoum. The pyramid at Abu Ruash, to the west of Cairo, inaccessible and little more than a pile of sand, is only of interest to specialists (if you do want to find it, service taxis from Midan Giza serve the nearby village of Abu Ruash).