Ruth explained some weird first-come-first-serve thing that Giza has for granting only 120 tickets into the monuments. It has independent tourists running madly to get in line.

She has this all figured out as to how to avoid the maddening crowds!

Our first stop is the inside of Khafre's Pyramid, is the second largest of the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza.

photography by Janice

Son of Khufu, Khafre is thought to have reigned from 2558 BCE to 2532 BCE in what is known as the 4th dynasty of the old kingdom.

While his Pyramid appears larger than Khufu’s Great Pyramid due to its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination - it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume.

photography by Janice

Khafre's sarcophagus was carved out of a solid block of granite and sunk partially in the floor.

Another pit in the floor likely contained the canopic chest.

photography by Ruth Shilling

The burial chamber is carved out of a pit in the bedrock.

The roof is constructed of gabled limestone beams.

The chamber is rectangular, 46.4 ft x 16 ft, and is oriented east-west.

The bottom course of casing stones was made out of pink granite but the remainder of the pyramid was cased in Tura Limestone.

Some of the casing stones still remain on the peak of this pyramid.

Many of Cairo's oldest buildings are built partly from stones from the pyramids.

This destruction continued well into the 1800s until preservation efforts and a resurgence of national pride put a stop to it.