Giza to Derinkuyu: 3 Mysterious Monuments Route
Explore three of Earth's most enigmatic ancient structures across Egypt and Turkey: the Pyramid of Djoser in Giza, the Great Sphinx nearby, and the Derinkuyu Underground City. This 694 km route connects iconic monuments that continue to perplex researchers with their architectural precision and engineering sophistication.
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- Places
- Start
- Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt
- End
- Great Sphinx, Egypt
- Stops
- 3
- Video author
- travmap
- Updated
Stops on this route
- Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt — Ancient step pyramid featuring six stacked stone tiers, built around 2670 BCE as Egypt's earliest monumental stone structure and architectural breakthrough.
- Derinkuyu Underground City — Underground city in Turkey with population exceeding 20,000 people, existing 85 meters beneath fairy chimneys of Cappadocia
- Great Sphinx, Egypt — Colossal limestone statue with a human head and lion's body, carved during the Old Kingdom and remaining one of the world's largest monolithic sculptures.
Useful for your trip
- Tip
- Pyramid of Djoser features an expansive system of passageways that you can still explore today, some 4,000 years after original construction. Note that what you see is a rejuvenation of the original structure.
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- Derinkuyu Underground City has 18 levels of tunnels and is the largest underground city of its kind. Separate tunnels link it to smaller underground cities in the region that can also be visited.
- Timing
- Newgrange features a spectacular light show each December, making that the best time to witness this phenomenon if scheduling your visit.
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- Machu Picchu is set on a mountain ridge 2,400 meters above sea level. Little is known about its founding; the layout, use, and inhabitants remain educated guesses by archaeologists.
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- Mesa Verde cliff dwellings feature carved homes varying from single rooms to vast villages with 150 connected dwellings. The ancestral Pueblo people built these within the mesa's natural alcoves around the 12th century.
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- Stonehenge massive stones were transported as much as 250 kilometers and erected with interlocking joints. The site was used for over 2,000 years.
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- Ancient temples of Malta were built prior to 3000 BC and predate Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. The most popular temples are Hagar Qim and Mnajdra; Gigantia is the oldest.
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- Nazca Lines consist of over 1,100 lines total: most are straight, but 300 are geometric patterns depicting animal shapes. Some lines stretch almost 50 kilometers and are best viewed from the sky.
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- Great Sphinx is 20 meters high and dates beyond 2500 BC (approximately 4,500 years old). It faces west across the Giza Plateau with pyramids in the background.
- Tip
- Göbekli Tepe in southeast Turkey contains 11,000 years of history with enormous carved stones, petroglyphs, giant stone rings, and t-shaped pillars weighing up to 10 tons. It is approximately 6,000 years older than Stonehenge.
Video on this route
25 Most Mysterious Monuments on Earth