18. The Pyramids of Egypt are breathtaking even today
Some of history’s greatest architectural achievements took place in Africa. Amongst these, by far the most famous are the pyramids of Egypt (although they weren’t alone in building them on the continent, as we shall see later). In Ancient Egypt, pyramids were funereal edifices, erected to remember the life of the great person buried beneath in an ornate tomb. The Ancient Egyptians built between 118 and 138 pyramids over the course of a staggering 2, 700 years, and the oldest known of the Egyptian pyramids is the semi-ruinous Pyramid of Djoser, which dates from the 27th Century BC.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, which probably took two decades to complete, was built for the Pharaoh Khufu (d. 2566 BC). At 481 feet in height, Khufu’s pyramid was the tallest manmade structure in the world until Lincoln Cathedral, England, was completed in 1311 AD. The Great Pyramid of Giza was reckoned one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and rightly so. In fact, it is not only the oldest Wonder on the list, but the only one still to survive, which is a testament to the architectural ingenuity of this ancient African culture.