MONUMENTMonument
Great Sphinx of Giza
29.7910, 31.8438
The Great Sphinx has crouched on the edge of the Giza plateau for some 4,500 years, its lion's body and human face carved from a single spur of the plateau's own limestone. Most likely built for the pharaoh Khafre, it guards the causeway to his pyramid and gazes east toward the rising sun.
Up close its scale surprises: roughly 20 metres tall and 73 long, weathered and softened by millennia of wind and sand, its famous missing nose long the subject of legend. From the viewing area you catch the iconic alignment of Sphinx and pyramids in a single frame.
It's the enduring emblem of ancient Egypt, and no Giza visit is complete without standing before it.
Know before you go
You can't walk right up to touch the Sphinx, so head to the paved terrace between its paws and the enclosure edge for the best photos, ideally early morning to beat crowds and haze.