152 Early World Civilizations: Supplemental Guide 8A | Approaching the Great Pyramid
Show image 8A-6: Setna pointing at the Great Pyramid in the distance
Ahweru’s eyes opened wide with excitement. “Is that the top of
the Great Pyramid, Father? Are we getting close?”
“It is the top, but we are still a long way from it. We will not be
there until tomorrow. It will start getting dark soon, so we will be
stopping shortly. But it is so tall that we can begin to see it even
from this distance.”
The top of the pyramid shone brightly. “It is like the sun,
Father!” Ahweru exclaimed.
“That is because the top is covered in gold that the pharaoh
ordered to be brought from his mines in the desert, and the sides
are covered in smooth, white stone.^10 The pyramid shines in the
sun.”
“The whole top is gold?”
“Yes. You see, Pharaoh Khufu wanted to show how powerful he
was. He said, ‘I am the greatest ruler on earth, and the god of the
sun, Amon-Ra, is the greatest of the gods, the one who created
the world. My pyramid will shine in the sunlight to honor Amon-
Ra and to remind everyone that, just as he created the world, I
created this pyramid and am also great. I will be famous forever!’”
Setna looked again at that shining peak. “And all these years
later, Ahweru, we are indeed standing here talking about Pharaoh
Khufu.”
Show image 8A-7: Setna and Ahweru on dock
“But now it’s time for our boat to dock for the night. We will
go into that town over there, get some dinner, then go to sleep.
Because I am a priest at the temple of Karnak, we are invited to
stay at the temple in this place. Come on, then. You will get to
see the Great Pyramid up close tomorrow. It’s the most amazing
building ever made!” And they stepped off their boat onto the
wooden dock at the shore.10 Mines are places where people dig
deep into the earth to get minerals
like gold.