Khafre's Pyramid is second to his father Khufu's Pyramid in size, but since it
is built on higher ground and at a steeper angle (about 53°), it appears
taller. It is 695 feet on a side at the base and stands 450 feet high
(originally 473 feet). Scholars estimate its overall volume at a mind-boggling
58,100,000 cubic feet.
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Each block in the Khafre Pyramid
weighs about two and a half tons.
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This view was shot from Khafre's Mortuary Temple, the ruins of which stand at
the eastern base of the Khafre Pyramid. The temple was one element within the
pharaoh's vast funerary complex, which included, besides the Pyramid, a lengthy
causeway stretching downhill from the Mortuary Temple to the Sphinx and a
Valley Temple, both of which in olden days would have stood on the edge of the
Nile. (A change in the river's course has left it farther east today.)
Visitors take a ride below the Khafre Pyramid.
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You start facing the Khafre Pyramid and the smaller Menkaure Pyramid to its
left. Working around to the right, you can see, to the north, the Great Pyramid
of Khufu; to the east, the plateau drops down to the Nile, with Cairo beyond;
and to the south, the Menkaure Pyramid and the vastness of the Sahara. Can you
find the Solar Barque museum (see Pharaoh's Boat)?
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