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[Page 130]
The Museum is the most wonderful place one would see in a world's travel, as it contains a fine collection of curios to feast the eyes upon & I spent a day & a half seeing the mummies, ancient statues, Pharaoh's barge & other items which one cannot describe. The mosque covers an area of 23 acres & the buildings & grounds present a fine sight.
The Pyramids are one of the chief items of interest in this country & the boys always avail themselves of an opportunity to visit Mena. The great pyramid of Cheops was commenced in 3733 B.C. & yet is not the oldest monument in Egypt, as the step pyramids of Sakhara is of earlier date. Cheops is of immense size as originally each of its sides were 755 ft. in length & 480 ft. high,taking groups of men(100,000 in each)20 years to build. At one time the pyramids were covered with polished stone, wqhich has been removed and used in building mosques in Cairoso now it is simply a series of steps about 6ft high each step formed of huge blocks - of limestone of which it is built & takes some climbing. The second pyramid was built by [indecipherable] 3666 B.C. & is smaller, but this one still has a little of the beautiful polished stone on its apex. The rocks surrounding these pyramids is honeycombed with tombs & many bodies have been laid to rest there many years ago. The Sphinx is an interesting monument & is so ancient that no one knows its actual origin..