点评:The Pyramid of Menkaure may be the smallest of the three main pyramids at Giza, but it’s still an incredible sight — and one that gives you a different perspective on just how enormous the Giza complex really is.
Built for Pharaoh Menkaure, the pyramid originally stood around 65 metres tall. Compared with the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre, it can almost feel like the smaller sibling, but standing beside it really puts into perspective just how much effort and engineering went into constructing these monuments thousands of years ago.
One of the things we particularly liked about Menkaure was that it generally felt a little less overwhelming than the Great Pyramid. There are fewer people gathered around it, giving you a bit more space to actually take in the surroundings and appreciate the pyramid itself.
The lower section is also particularly interesting, with some of the huge granite blocks giving you an idea of the scale and weight of the materials used in its construction. There are still plenty of unanswered questions surrounding exactly how the pyramids were built, which somehow makes standing in front of them even more fascinating.
If you're visiting the Giza Plateau, Menkaure is obviously part of the main pyramid complex, so we'd definitely recommend taking the time to see it rather than simply focusing on the Great Pyramid.
It's unlikely to give you quite the same immediate wow factor as standing directly in front of Khufu, simply because of its size, but that doesn't make it any less historically significant.
Our verdict: The smallest of Giza's three main pyramids, but still an extraordinary piece of ancient Egyptian history. Don't rush past it — take a moment to appreciate the scale, the granite construction and the fact that you're standing in front of something built thousands of years ago.
翻译:门卡拉金字塔或许是吉萨三座主要金字塔中最小的一座,但它依然令人叹为观止——它也让我们以不同的视角来认识吉萨金字塔群究竟有多么宏大。
这座金字塔是为法老门卡拉而建,最初高度约为65米。与胡夫金字塔和哈夫拉金字塔相比,它看起来就像是个“小弟弟”呢。不过,站在它身旁才能真正体会到:几千年前人们为了建造这些纪念碑付出了多少努力,又运用了怎样的工程技术。
我们特别喜欢门卡拉金字塔的一点是:它给人的压迫感总体上比大金字塔要小一些。围绕在它周围的人也较少,这样你就能有更多空间来欣赏周围的景色并细细品味这座金字塔。
它的下部也格外有趣。这里有一些巨大的花岗岩块,能让你大致了解建造金字塔时所用材料的规模和重量。关于金字塔究竟是如何建造的,至今仍有许多未解之谜,这反而让站在金字塔前时的体验更加引人入胜。
如果你要游览吉萨高原,孟卡拉金字塔显然属于主要的金字塔群,因此我们强烈建议你花些时间参观它,而不要只把注意力集中在大金字塔上。虽然由于体积较小,它或许无法带来那种站在胡夫金字塔前时的那种震撼感,但这丝毫不影响其重要的历史价值。
我们的评价:这是吉萨三座主要金字塔中最小的一座,却依然是古埃及历史中极为珍贵的瑰宝。切勿匆匆路过——不妨花点时间细细品味它的规模、由花岗岩构成的建筑特色,以及自己正站在一座拥有数千年历史的建筑前的这一事实吧。