Why the Pyramids of Egypt are special
The three great Pyramids of Egypt at Giza are so massive they confound the imagination. They are even more amazing when we consider that they were built nearly 4600 years ago.

About my animated picture of the Pyramids of Egypt
The animated picture on the left illustrates the marked difference in appearance between the three great Pyramids of Egypt then and now.
Originally, the three great Pyramids of Egypt were covered with a smooth limestone surfacing that gave them a sleek finished look. 
Today the Pyramids of Egypt have a rugged exterior because subsequent ancient rulers filched the surface stones from the monuments for use on their own buildings. 

Khufu's Pyramid reigns supreme among the three great Pyramids of Eqypt
The pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) is the oldest, biggest and most famous of the three great Pyramids of Egypt. It was built during the reign of pharaoh Khufu (2589 to 2566 BC) and is the only true surviving member of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.
Khufu's pyramid is the farthest of the three great Pyramids of Egypt in the above picture. It seems shorter than the middle pyramid (Chephren's) for two reasons. First, Khufu's pyramid sits higher on the plateau than Chephren's. Second, the photographic vantage point makes Khufu's pyramid seem smaller.
For more insights on the pyramid of Khufu, click the round green "seven ancient wonders" button. Because Khufu's pyramid is one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, it has its own dedicated web page in the Seven Wonders section of this website.

The mummies are missing from all three of the great Pyramids of Egypt
The mummies were likely removed long ago by sophisticated tomb robbers. The priceless buried treasures of the pharaohs were also taken.

Interesting tidbits about
the Pyramids of Egypt at Giza
Many theories exist on how the pyramids were constructed. Most Egyptologists now believe that a large temporary earth ramp with a gentle incline was built. The giant stone blocks were then dragged up the slope with a combination of pulleys, levers and raw manpower. 
Over the course of several centuries, the construction design evolved from the modestly high step pyramid style to the skyscraping, smooth-sided pyramids of Khufu and Chephren at Giza. 
Then, starting with Menkure's pyramid (the nearest one in the picture), size and structural strength gradually began to decline. The primary reasons were weakening economies and fading pharaonic powers. 
The three great Pyramids of Egypt at Giza have a north-south alignment because the polar stars were considered sacred. 
The number of large stone blocks used to build the three great Pyramids of Egypt is often overstated. For example, it is commonly written that 2,300,000 million were used for Khufu's pyramid. The actual figure is many times smaller when you divide the cubic size of the pyramid by the average cubic size of the stone blocks. 
Some archeologists speculate that the tomb robbers were unsuccessful in finding the true burial chambers of the three pharaohs because the tomb builders were cleverer than the thieves. If so, the pharaonic mummies and treasures are still concealed somewhere within their respective pyramids, waiting to be detected by future technology