Pyramids, part 1
Giza, Egypt, October 2004
This is me posing in front of Chephren's pyramid, the only one of the Giza pyramids to retain parts of its original outer casing (near the apex). All the other pyramids (and the lower part of Chephren's pyramid) were robbed of their casing when Saladin needed large blocks of stone for the massive citadel he was building in Cairo.
The grey haze you see in the background (to the right of the pyramid) is Cairo, which is encroaching on the pyramids in a rather unromantic way. If the city keeps expanding at the rate it is now, the pyramids will be surrounded by houses and businesses within ten years.