Giza

is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is in the center of the country, situated on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Cairo. Its capital is the city of Giza. It includes a stretch of the left bank of the Nile Valley around Giza, and acquired a large stretch of desert, including Bahariya Oasis when the 6th of October Governorate was merged into it on 14 April 2011. The Giza Governorate is also home to the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza.
Giza is most famous as the location of the Giza Plateau: the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples. Giza has always been a focal point in Egypt’s history due to location in respect to Memphis, the ancient capital.
The Great Pyramid of Giza at one time was advocated (1884) as the location for the Prime Meridian, a reference point used for determining a base longitude
Transportation:
Transportation in Giza comprises an extensive road network, rail system, subway system, and maritime services. Road transport is facilitated by personal vehicles, taxi cabs, privately owned public buses, and microbuses.
Giza shares with Cairo a subway system, officially called the “Metro (مترو)”, a fast and efficient way of getting around. An extensive road network connects Giza with 6th of October City, Cairo and other cities. There are flyovers and bridges such as the 15th of May bridge. Giza traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded.
• Cairo Taxi
• Cairo Metro
• Cairo Yellow Cab
• Cairo Nile Ferry
The Pyramids and the Sphinx
The Pyramids of Giza consist of the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu and constructed c. 2560–2540 BC), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinos) a few hundred meters further south-west. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex. Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre. Along with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as “queens” pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids.[3]
• Khufu’s pyramid complex
Khufu’s pyramid complex consists of a valley temple, now buried beneath the village of Nazlet el-Samman; basalt paving and nummulitic limestone walls have been found but the site has not been excavated.[4][5] The valley temple was connected to a causeway which was largely destroyed when the village was constructed. The causeway led to the Mortuary Temple of Khufu. From this temple only the basalt pavement remains. The mortuary temple was connected to the king’s pyramid. The king’s pyramid has three smaller queen’s pyramids associated with it and five boat pits.[6] The boat pits contained a ship, and the two pits on the south side of the pyramid still contained intact ships. One of these ships has been restored and is on display. Khufu’s pyramid maintains a limited collection of casing stones at its base. These casing stones were made of fine white limestone quarried from the nearby range.[3]
• Khafre’s pyramid complex
Khafre’s pyramid complex consists of a valley temple (sometimes referred to as the Sphinx Temple), a causeway, a mortuary temple and the king’s pyramid. The valley temple yielded several statues of Khafre. Several were found in a well in the floor of the temple by Mariette in 1860. Others were found during successive excavations by Sieglin (1909–10), Junker, Reisner, and Hassan. Khafre’s complex contained five boat-pits and a subsidiary pyramid with a serdab. Khafre’s pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu Pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction—it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume. Khafre’s pyramid retains a prominent display of casing stones at its apex.
• Menkaure’s pyramid complex
Menkaure’s pyramid complex consists of a valley temple, a causeway, a mortuary temple, and the king’s pyramid. The valley temple contained several statues of Menkaure. During the 5th dynasty, a smaller ante-temple was added on to the valley temple. The mortuary temple also yielded several statues of Menkaure. The king’s pyramid has three subsidiary or queen’s pyramids.[6] Of the four major monuments, only Menkaure’s pyramid is seen today without any of its original polished limestone casing.[3]
• The Sphinx
The Sphinx dates to the reign of king Khafre.[7] A chapel was located between its forepaws that had unfortunate history of being repeatedly destroyed by unusual circumstances. During the New Kingdom, Amenhotep II dedicated a new temple to Hauron-Haremakhet and this structure was added onto by later rulers.[6]
• Tomb of Queen Khentkaues I
Khentkaus I was buried in Giza. Her tomb is known as LG 100 and G 8400 and is located in the Central Field, near the pyramid of Menkaure. The pyramid complex of Queen Khentkaus includes: her pyramid, a boat pit, a valley temple and a pyramid town.
The Pyramid of Djoser
(or Zoser), or step pyramid (kbhw-ntrw in Egyptian) is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built during the 27th century BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by Imhotep, his vizier. It is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
This first Egyptian pyramid consisted of six mastabas (of decreasing size) built atop one another in what were clearly revisions and developments of the original plan. The pyramid originally stood 62 metres (203 ft) tall, with a base of 109 m × 125 m (358 ft × 410 ft) and was clad in polished white limestone.[2] The step pyramid (or proto-pyramid) is considered to be the earliest large-scale cut stone construction,[3] although the nearby enclosure known as Gisr el-mudir would seem to predate the complex.
Cairo University
(previously King Fuad I University, Egyptian University) is a public university in Giza, Egypt. It was founded on 21 December 1908. It is the second oldest institution of higher education in Egypt, notwithstanding the pre-existing higher professional schools that later became constituent colleges of the university, after Al Azhar University. It was founded and funded as the Egyptian University by a committee of private citizens with royal patronage in 1908 and became a state institution under King Fuad I in 1925. In 1940, four years following his death, the University was renamed King Fuad I University in his honor. It was renamed a second time after the Free Officer’s Coup of 1952. The University currently enrolls approximately 155,000 students in 22 faculties. It counts three Nobel Laureates among its graduates and is one of the 50 largest institutions of higher education in the world by enrollment.
The Giza Zoo
is a zoological garden in Giza, Egypt. It is one of the few green areas in the city, and includes Giza’s largest park. The zoo covers about 80 acres (32 ha),[2] and is home to many endangered species, as well as a selection of endemic fauna.
Rare species have been successfully bred in the zoo – including the first Californian sea lion to be born in the Middle East in 2002.
The zoo was built by Khedive Ismail and opened on 1 March 1891. It was built on about 50 feddan (21 hectares (52 acres)) that was once part of the harem gardens. Ismail imported many plants from India, Africa, and South America, of which a banyan tree planted about 1871 can still be seen. The original 180 birds and 78 other animals in the zoo’s collection were taken from Ismail’s private menagerie.[5]
In the late 1870s the state took over the zoo as partial payment of the Ismail’s debts. In January 1890, the harem building was opened as a natural history museum, and was used in this manner until a new museum was opened in Tahrir Square in 1902. The portion of the gardens facing the Nile were sold to the public for large homes, but the harem gardens were kept intact.[5]
When the zoo was built, the exhibits with semi-natural habitats were considered spacious by European standards. The animal collection emphasized Egyptian species, and at one time claimed 20,000 individuals representing 400 species, though many of these may have been migratory birds. By the mid twentieth century, the zoo was considered one of the best zoos in the world, but it has had trouble adapting to the pressures of growth in the latter half of the century as human populations in Cairo have increased.[6]
By the end of World War II the zoo claimed 4,700 exhibits, with a total of 700 mammals and 500 reptiles. Attendance levels of 43,567 in 1889 rose to 223,525 by 1906.[5] In 2007, the zoo hosted almost 3.4 million visitors.[3]
In 2004, the zoo lost its membership with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).[1] The zoo did not pay membership fees, and then ignored the recommendations of WAZA inspectors.[7] As of 2010, it is a member of the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZAB),[4] and is working towards getting re-accredited by WAZA.
Orman Garden
The Orman Garden is one of the most famous Botanical gardens in Egypt. It is located at Giza, in Cairo. It dates back to 1875 and the reign of Khedive Isma’il Pasha who established the garden on a larger site than it presently occupies as part of the Palace of the Khedive. It became a public botanical garden in 1910/1917 and put under the Ministry of Agriculture management.
The garden covers about 28 acres. Today, the garden contains an herbarium building, a rock garden, a rose garden, cactus gardens, and probably the most notable feature, the lotus pond.
Orman Garden is located west of the River Nile and east of Cairo University in the Giza Governorate. “Orman” is a Turkish word, which means “the forest”.
Spring Festival
Every year, starting March 22, the Spring Festival is held at Orman Garden. During that time, many companies exhibit their various plant offerings including ornamental plants, cut flowers, cactus, seeds for growing many plants, fertilizers, and pots.