Qualla: The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years https://qualla.com/great-sphinx en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years https://qualla.com/great-sphinx The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years: Introduction https://qualla.com/great-sphinx/ Photo credit Hamerani, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Great Sphinx has been watching the sun rise over the Nile for 4,500 years. At 240 feet long and 66 feet high, it's the largest monolithic statue in the world - carved from a single ridge of limestone on the Giza plateau. The body is a lion; the face may be Pharaoh Khafre, or someone else entirely. The Sphinx has no inscriptions. No contemporary records describe its construction. It is almost certainly 4,500 years old, possibly older. Despite a century of study, its origins, purpose, and original appearance remain mysteries.

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Image: Hamerani | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/stq4-the-great-sphinx-the-face-that-has-been-staring-at-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years: The Statue https://qualla.com/great-sphinx/ Photo credit Sattaher, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Sphinx was carved from the living bedrock of the Giza plateau, leaving a U-shaped quarry around it. The body is a recumbent lion facing east, toward the rising sun. The head - proportionally small, suggesting later recarving - wears the royal nemes headdress. Originally, the...

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Image: Sattaher | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/stq4-the-great-sphinx-the-face-that-has-been-staring-at-the-statue.mp3 0:06 2 full The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years: The Mystery https://qualla.com/great-sphinx/ Photo credit Ismaiel, CC BY-SA 4.0. No contemporary inscription mentions the Sphinx's construction. Egyptologists attribute it to Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558-2532 BC) based on circumstantial evidence: its position near Khafre's pyramid and valley temple, and a resemblance between the face and known Khafre statues. But...

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Image: Ismaiel | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/stq4-the-great-sphinx-the-face-that-has-been-staring-at-the-mystery.mp3 0:06 3 full The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years: The Burial https://qualla.com/great-sphinx/ Photo credit Christine Schultz (= Hathor13; berbere-tours.info), Public domain. Throughout history, the Sphinx has spent more time buried than exposed. Sand dunes climbed its flanks and covered its body. Only the head emerged from the desert. The statue was excavated at least twice in antiquity, each time reburied by wind and time. A granite stele between t...

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Image: Christine Schultz (= Hathor13; berbere-tours.info) | Public domain

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/stq4-the-great-sphinx-the-face-that-has-been-staring-at-the-burial.mp3 0:06 4 full The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years: The Restoration https://qualla.com/great-sphinx/ Photo credit M. Delie & E. Bechard, Public domain. Modern excavation began in 1817 and was completed in 1936, fully exposing the Sphinx for the first time in millennia. What emerged was alarming: severe erosion, structural cracks, and entire sections of limestone flaking away. The Sphinx's body is softer limestone than its head,...

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Image: M. Delie & E. Bechard | Public domain

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/stq4-the-great-sphinx-the-face-that-has-been-staring-at-the-restoration.mp3 0:06 5 full The Great Sphinx: The Face That Has Been Staring at the Sunrise for 4,500 Years: The Symbol https://qualla.com/great-sphinx/ Photo credit Facchinelli, Beniamino (1829?-1895?), Public domain. The Sphinx has fascinated humanity for millennia. Greeks named it after their mythical creature (the Egyptian name is lost). Arabs called it 'Father of Terror.' Napoleon's soldiers sketched it. Nineteenth-century tourists climbed it. Agatha Christie wrote mystery novels in its sh...

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Image: Facchinelli, Beniamino (1829?-1895?) | Public domain

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/t/q/4/great-sphinx-wk/stq4-the-great-sphinx-the-face-that-has-been-staring-at-the-symbol.mp3 0:06 6 full