Where the pyramids meet the city: Giza at the edge of Cairo

Seen from the air, the Pyramids of Giza stand on the edge of the Western Desert, with the districts of Greater Cairo spreading up to the plateau. The complex lies about nine kilometres west of the Nile and about 13 kilometres south-west of the centre of Cairo, within the city of Giza.

Three pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders

The complex is home to the Great Pyramid, built for the pharaoh Khufu, and to the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure. The Great Pyramid was completed roughly 4,500 years ago. Its original height was about 147 metres, and it is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still stands.

A protected landscape

The pyramids form part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, which was inscribed in 1979.

About two kilometres away stands the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the plateau shares its horizon with one of the largest urban areas in Africa, Greater Cairo, which is home to more than 20 million people.