The most exciting exploration so far has been exploring the Sphinx of Giza. The Great Sphinx of Giza is a Mythical creature with a woman’s head and a lion’s body. This is a limestone structure, and the Sphinx has the wings of a bird. In mythology, she challenges people who approach her with a riddle; if they fail to give the correct answer, she kills them and eats them. The belief is that King Hermes was buried there. The Great Sphinx is home to many tunnels and passageways that treasure hunters created.
The Sphinx has a broken nose, and it is said that a dervish named Mohammad Sami Al Dhar broke and smashed its nose. There is another story that a general in the Napoleon army split it. It was also carved from one single piece of limestone.
Archeologists believe that the Sphinx was built during Egypt’s Old Kingdom circa 2575 -2150 BC by the fourth dynasty Pharo Khafre.
The famous riddle that the Sphinx asked Oedipus was what if one voice goes on four feet in the morning, two feet in midday, and three feet in the evening? Oedipus answered Man. His answer was correct: the Sphinx killed herself, and as a reward, Oedipus got the throne of Thebes and the hand of the widowed Queen Jocasta.
There is also the second riddle of the Sphinx, which is that there are two sisters. One gives birth to the other, and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters? The answer is day and night.
I explored the Sphinx on a camel and ventured deep near the pyramids; this was a magical evening I will never forget. There was also a dance party in the evening organized by a mobile phone service provider. Still, I was so overwhelmed by the image of the Sphinx of Giza that I gave it a miss and returned to my hotel with a guide, Abdul, in tow.
