The Step Pyramid of Djoser, located just 19 miles outside of Giza, is the oldest pyramid in Egypt. Though there are a couple of other competitors, it may also be the oldest known cut-stone building complex in the world. Today it is the centerpiece of the necropolis of Saqqara, a large cemetery that…
Tag: pyramids
Great Pyramid of Giza, also Known as Pyramid of Khufu
I’d long wanted to visit the Egyptian pyramids, but kept putting it off due to scheduling and concerns over safety in the region. Last fall, I finally made it. One of the biggest surprises for most travelers is the location of the pyramids. Photos show them surrounded by sand, as if they are…
Feathered Serpents Litter the Grounds at Chichen Itza, But One Can Only Be Seen on the Equinox
Worship of a feathered serpent deity may have begun as early as 200 B.C. at Teotihuacan near present day Mexico City, but it reached its pinnacle at Chichen Itza, the Mayan cultural capital in the north central plains of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Named Quetzalcoatl by Nahua residents of Teotihuacan, to Maya the plumed serpent…
Serpents and Demons Couldn’t Protect Uxmal from Ultimate Demise
The demonic eyes in the stone mask stopped me in my tracks. This was Chac, the Mayan rain god, the most important deity in a land where the only source of fresh water was infrequent rain. I could easily imagine its hawk-like beak flaying the flesh from my bones. The stone visage guarded…
