"There are three pyramids in the group at Gizeh, and they are called respectively, in order of size, the Great, the Second, and the Third. The Great Pyramid is the one usually ascended by visitors; in fact, it is the only one they ascend, as it the highest; and, besides, the ascent of the others is much more dangerous. Perhaps you will wonder why it is so.
"When the pyramids were finished, they were covered with a casing of red granite, which was fitted into the steps between the blocks of limestone; the limestone came from the quarries on the other side of the river, but the red granite was brought from Assouan, at the first cataract of the Nile, and was consequently much more costly than the other material. When Cairo was founded and built, much of the stone needed for it was taken from the pyramids, and from the ruins of Memphis; all the granite casing of the First Pyramid was removed, and some of that of the Second, but enough remains on the latter to make the ascent quite difficult.
"As soon as a bargain had been made, and the men were selected to accompany us, we started up the north-east corner of the huge pile. The blocks of stone are so large that the ascent is by a series of steps from two to four feet high, rarely less than three feet. Imagine a long stairway, with steps as high as an ordinary dining-table, and remember that you must gain an elevation of four hundred and eighty feet before your journey is ended. The Arabs go ahead of you, indicating the points where you are to put your feet, and pulling you up by the arms. We reached the top in about fifteen minutes, and then the whole crowd of Arabs gave a loud hurrah, and demanded pay for it.
"Originally the pyramid had a sharp apex, but it has been torn away, so that the top is now an irregular platform, about thirty feet square, and makes a comfortable resting-place after the fatigue of the ascent. We were tired enough when we got there, and quite willing to sit down. The Arabs kept bothering us for money, and would give us no peace till we told the men who accompanied us that we would give them a good backsheesh on condition that they kept all the rest away from us, and if they failed to do so they would not have a penny. The plan worked very fairly, but did not save us altogether from annoyance.
"We were disappointed with the view from the top, and this is said to be the case with most travellers. There was the desert on one side, and the rich Valley of the Nile on the other; to the eastward, and across the river, were the walls of Cairo, with the Mokattam and other hills behind it; on the south was the valley of the river, with the double line of desert closing in upon it; while to the north was the Delta, spreading out toward the Mediterranean, and contrasting sharply with the clear blue sky above it.
THE BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS.—"FORTY CENTURIES LOOK DOWN ON YOU."
"The walls and domes and minarets of Cairo gave an Oriental aspect to the view in that direction, and told us, if nothing else had been needed to do so, that we were in the land of the Moslem. But the most noticeable thing in the landscape was the contrast between the desert and the Delta—between the most fertile soil in the world and the most barren. There is no middle ground; at one place lies the richest of all rich earths, and six inches away it is the driest and most unproductive sand. You may sit at the dividing line, and while you rest one hand on the dark green carpet of grass growing from the black alluvium, you can gather the gray sand with the other. It is the perfection of fertility on one side, and the perfection of desolation on the other. Probably there is not, nor can there be, anywhere else in the world a sharper contrast in a picture drawn by nature.