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no time to even glance at it but went straight along past Cheops to see the Sphinx which is abt 800 yds to the S.E. of Cheops, stopping to take one or two photos on the way.
In the lose stones & rocks lying about, - sandstones, mudstones etc – were numerous organisms which I could not with the hurried glance place at all.
Coming to the Sphinx the first feeling was that of a great disappointment. Pictures had given the impression that it was a huge affair comparable to the pyramids in size, whereas it is really a small affair carved out of stratified rock. The photos I took will I think show how the false impression is created by taking the photo with the Sphinx in the foreground & pyramids in background. Round the base of the Sphinx is a fair sized excavation so that at ground level one stands on a level with about the chin of the face: from the base to the crown the height is perhaps 40 or 50 feet.
Just beyond the Sphinx are the remains of a temple built of huge granite blocks, the whole having been excavated from the sand: some of the blocks of red Assouan [Aswan] granite were 15 ft long by 4 ft by perhaps 5 ft thick & one wondered how they were brought by the old Egyptians.
One wished for plenty of time to investigate the whole surroundings but it was a matter of getting one or two snaps & them hurrying back to the tram terminus. Passing Cheops it was incongruous to turn your back on the pyramid & find a "White Horse Whisky" advt facing you!
Our tram did not move off until 6 o'clock, having then a full complement of officers including a general: in Cairo generals are said to be as common as gooseberries on a bush, whereas if one appeared in Pitt St people would run to look