Close to the first cataract one can still see the quarries of red granite used not only for obelisks, but also for huge statues, sphinxes, and sarcophagi. Alabaster was quarried at the ancient town of Alabastron
The Sphinx commemorated the pharaoh and served as an immovable, eternal silent guardian of his tomb. This guardian stood watch at the entrances to the palaces of their kings. It gives visitors coming from the east the illusion that it rests on a great pedestal. ...