More Egyptian pyramids to open to the public

by Sean McLachlan on


Visitors to Egypt have always flocked to the pyramids of Giza and Saqqara. Many people don’t realize, however, that these are only the most famous of more than a hundred pyramids in the country. In fact, there’s a whole “pyramid field” to the west of Cairo that includes Giza, Saqqara, and numerous other groupings across a long swath of desert. Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities is now opening some of them to visitors for the first time.

At Dahshur, more than a dozen pyramids give an interesting lesson in pyramid construction. The largest of these were built in the Fourth Dynasty (c. 2613 to 2494 BC) just prior to those at Giza. The founder of this dynasty, the Pharaoh Sneferu, was quite the pyramid builder. His first attempt was at Meidum, 100 km (62 miles) south of Cairo. It collapsed, and he moved his workmen to Dahshur for his next try.

This was the famous Bent Pyramid, pictured above in a photo from Jon Bodsworth’s excellent collection at the Egypt Archive. Check out the gallery below for more of his work. The architects started building the pyramid at a 55 degree angle, but when the structure showed signs of weakness they chickened out and built the rest at a more stable angle of 43 degrees. This gives the pyramid unique appearance. The pyramid’s two interior passages will open for the first time to visitors in December. A third passage leads 25 meters (82 ft) to a nearby smaller pyramid of Sneferu’s queen so the two could have conjugal visits in the afterlife. His third try was the Red Pyramid, built at the safer 43 degree angle. It held up nicely and is the third largest pyramid in Egypt at 104 meters (345 ft) tall.

Other pyramids at Dahshur include smaller examples from later dynasties. They aren’t nearly as grandiose as the earlier ones, perhaps because later rulers couldn’t command as much authority or they simply had other things they needed to spend their money on. The Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III (c. 1860-1814 BC) makes for an odd photo. To save money, the architects only used stone on the outside, and when later generations stole it for other building projects, the mud brick interior was revealed. This has been weathering away for the last four thousand years and now looks a bit deflated, although it’s still impressive.

%Gallery-97617%Between Giza and Saqqara lies the royal necropolis of Abusir, home to 14 pyramids that will open to the public this month. The necropolis on the outskirts of modern-day Cairo was started in the fifth dynasty (c. 2494 to 2345 BC) after the previous dynasty had filled up Giza with pyramids and temples. Abusir’s pyramids are smaller than those at Giza, and some have all but disappeared after millennia of weathering, but the site is still worth visiting. Most are step pyramids like the famous one at Saqqara, not flat-sided “true” pyramids like those at Giza. Some have smaller pyramids next to them to house the pharaoh’s queens.

One pyramid, that of the pharaoh Neferefre, was never finished, and has given archaeologists a glimpse at the construction techniques that went into building these behemoths. Some people like to think the pyramids were built by aliens or people from Atlantis, but archaeological evidence and the Egyptians’ own written records prove they built the pyramids themselves.

These “new” pyramids are just a few of the large number of Egyptian attractions opening in the next three years. Several museums are under construction, and the area around the Pyramids of Giza has been cleaned up. This month the famous Avenue of Sphinxes between the temples of Luxor and Karnak is opening, with about 900 statues and a recently excavated Roman-era village nearby.

Note to budding Egyptologists: this article is way too short to cover all the various theories and discoveries at Abusir and Dahshur. You need a few books to cover all of them! A good start are the works of Miroslav Verner, including The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt´s Great Monuments and Abusir: The Realm of Osiris.

World’s tallest tent opens in Kazakhstan

by Sean McLachlan on


When you think of Kazakhstan you probably think of nomads living in tents, but today’s Kazakhstan is rapidly modernizing thanks to an oil boom, so it’s appropriate that the Central Asian nation is now home to the world’s tallest tent.

Technically, it’s the world’s largest “tensile structure”, meaning something held up by poles and cables. A tent, in other words. At 150 meters (492 feet), it’s the also the tallest building in the capital Astana. It encloses more than 100,000 square meters, including a park, cafes, restaurants, 700 parking spots, shopping areas, even an artificial beach.

Called the Khan Shatyr, it’s a unique architectural wonder. One of the challenges of building it was Astana’s rough weather. The Khan Shatyr’s website proclaims, “What do you feel like doing everyday at Astana? It is -30C outside.”

Not the best slogan, but certainly realistic. Astana has the distinction of being the second coldest capital in the world (after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), with freezing temperatures six months of the year and winter temperatures that have been measured as low as −40 °C (−40 °F). In the summer it can get up to 35 °C (95 °F). The tent’s skin is made from a special plastic that allows sunlight in while still acting as an insulator. Air vents keep ice from forming on the surfaces and keep the interior at a constant temperature.

Kazakhstan has large oil reserves and the government has been riding a wave of petrodollars that it has used to fund a massive building campaign in the capital. Astana is said to be the biggest construction project in the world, and taking a look at the huge structures in the gallery photos it certainly is a strong contender. The city is the brainchild of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The Khan Shatyr was opened on President Nazarbayev’s 70th birthday.

The government has been trying to sell Kazakhstan’s capital as a tourist destination, and marvels like this will go a long way towards compensating visitors for the weather. With rugged scenery, Baikonur Cosmodrome (where Yuri Gagarin launched into orbit to become the first man in space), ancient mosques, medieval walled cities, and traditional folk who live in much smaller tents, Kazakhstan is a good choice for the adventure traveler.

Image courtesy Nigel Young/Foster + Partners.

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Benjamin Franklin’s historic London home

by Sean McLachlan on

Of all the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the most interesting. A true genius, he was a printer, writer, scientist, philosopher, ladies man, politician, businessman, inventor, and much more.

Despite his crucial role in the development of the early United States, none of his American homes still exist. The house where he lived in London, however, is open to the public.

The Benjamin Franklin House makes for an interesting insight into American history, and tells about life in 18th century London as well. Franklin lived here from 1757 to 1775 and worked as a representative for various colonial interests. In the early years he tried to act as an intermediary, a calm voice of reason opposed to hotheads on both sides of the Atlantic. But as dissent grew louder in the colonies, and the British government became ever more intransigent, Franklin threw his lot in with the rebels. In fact, he had to leave London in haste to avoid being arrested by the British government.

The home is tucked away on Craven Street, a quiet little lane of well-preserved Georgian-era homes not far from Trafalgar Square. Here he lived with his landlady Margaret Stevenson and her family, including a relative who ran an anatomy school. This doctor buried discarded human remains in the garden and they now make a fascinating if rather gruesome addition to an exhibition that otherwise features artifacts from Franklin’s life and times.

The tour is run by an attractive and talented actress playing Mrs. Stevenson, who takes you from room to room as audiovisual displays tell of Franklin’s stay at the house. There is little in the way of period furnishings, but the combination of the actress and recordings bring you into the era much better than old furniture ever could. It seems his London period was one of the intellectual highlights of Franklin’s life. A constant stream of visitors came to the home to discuss science, philosophy, and politics. Europe was in the midst of the Enlightenment and Franklin became a central figure in London’s intellectual scene. So if you’re interested in learning more about one of America’s truly great figures, give the Benjamin Franklin House a try.

Image courtesy the Benjamin Franklin House.

Modern art gallery opens in Rome

by Sean McLachlan on

The ancient monuments of Rome have a trendy new neighbor.

The National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, popularly known as the Maxxi, has finally opened after a controversial five-year delay and ballooning construction costs that eventually topped $200 million.

Award-winning Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid is responsible for the funky building design, which houses 27,000 sq/m (291,000 sq ft.) of exhibition space, offices, workshops, and lecture halls. In keeping with Rome’s legacy of fine buildings, the museum gives equal space to both art and architecture.

Current exhibitions include a survey of Italian contemporary architecture, a retrospective of the varied work of Gino De Dominicis (whose media ranged from video installations to sculpture), and a selection from Maxxi’s permanent collection.

Image courtesy MAXXI.

Photo of the Day (5.30.10)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Whoa. That was the first thing that came to mind when I looked at Flickr user Bryson Gilbert’s photo of City Hall in Toronto. It’s not just the vertigo-inducing angle – I also love the choice of black and white, which accentuates the curves, shadows and lines of the buildings. It almost looks like the facades of these two structures are the wings of some giant insect, preparing to take flight. Here’s to the photographers that help us to take a second look at familiar landmarks.

Have any great architecture photos you’ve taken during your travels? Why not share them with us by adding them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.