We’ve made it through another week. And that means it’s time for our latest featured photo! Today’s image comes from Memphis, the second capital of Egypt (it held that status from roughly 2950 B.C. to 2180 B.C.). The Great Sphinx at Giza, which I also visited, is justly world-renowned; but there’s another sphinx in Memphis that has also endured through the ages.
It’s not nearly as large as the one at Giza (it’s only about 26 feet long and 13 feet high, in contrast to the Great Sphinx at Giza which is 241 feet long); and it’s quite a bit younger (it’s believed to have been chiseled sometime between 1700 BC and 1400 BC, which means that the Memphis sphinx may have been built over a thousand years later than its Gizan counterpart). It’s been dubbed the Alabaster Sphinx, although it’s actually made out of calcite, a mineral that’s merely similar to alabaster.
This photo was taken during my trip to Egypt in September 2012.
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I haven’t been to Egypt yet, but it’s a bit mind-boggling to think of how much really old stuff there is there. I had no idea this sphinx existed until just now, so thanks for that.
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@Jenna: That was one reason why I found Egypt so amazing: every day, I was seeing more sites that were ancient beyond belief. And this alabaster sphinx is a whippersnapper compared to some of the REALLY old stuff like the pyramids.
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My sister went to Egypt a few years ago, and I was so busy marveling at her photos of camel rides through the desert and photos of her jumping in front of the pyramids, I totally missed out on the Sphinx! Gorgeous statue, thanks for sharing!:-)
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@Jess: There are actually multiple sphinx statues in Egypt. The one that gets all the love is the one that’s right by the main pyramids in Giza; this one is about 30 miles away from there, in Memphis — a former capital city but now a quiet backwater in which you’ll see very few other tourists.
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