When Moses was alive, these pyramids were a thousand years old. Here
began the history of architecture. Here people learned to measure time by a
calendar, to plot the stars by astronomy and chart the earth by geometry. And
here they developed that most awesome of all ideas - the idea of eternity.
Walter Cronkite
Lately, I’ve been blogging
about a variety of topics in Second Life (SL).
Fashion, steampunk, sex, pirates,
and friendship to
name but a few. (I’m nothing if not
eclectic.) However, I feel I’ve gotten
away from my roots. Originally,
I’d wanted to travel across the grid to see new places and meet new people. I think I’m doing pretty well with the latter
but the former maybe not so much.
So, I’ve decided to strike
out and visit more places further afield inworld. One group of places that I’ve always wanted
to visit in Real Life (RL) and have been frustrated mostly by time and to a
certain extent by distance is the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World. Given that only one of them still stands and
that unfortunately seems to be surrounded by a swirl of political turmoil which
looks like it won’t be ending any time soon, SL seems to be a pretty good bet
to go looking for them. (Significant
Other also likes the idea of me not clocking up any more frequent flyer miles
in RL.)
The ancient world has always
had a certain fascination for me. Maybe
because I grew up in a country where we seem to have more people who are over
one hundred years old than we have buildings and monuments has something to do
with it.
Working from Wikipedia’s
list of the Seven Wonders, I was able to locate all seven within SL. This was a good sign and I have my marching
orders. I’m going to visit all of them
for my own sake and to bring the places and stories back to my readers.
I decide to start with the Great
Pyramid of Giza. It’s
the only survivor of the original seven, the oldest of them, and, probably, the
most physically impressive of the lot.
I arrive at the Great
Pyramid of Giza in
the Nile Valley. I realize almost
immediately that something’s amiss. I’ve
only seen the Great Pyramid in RL in photos (including one of an older relative
sitting on a camel in front of it during WWII) or videos but I can tell that I
may have to rethink my original objective of revisiting the world’s lost
history in SL.
Maybe it’s the glitzy pyramid
standing in front of me that looks like it dropped in from Las Vegas or the
sign saying “Nude Beach” but I don’t think I’m in Egypt, ancient or
otherwise. Given the relative ease of
construction in SL (yes, I’m leaving myself open to criticism from scripters
with that one) I’m a little disappointed by its size. I know the number of prims is always a
constraint but something better could have been done here.
Walking towards this dwarf
pyramid, I see that further architectural license has been taken with the
original design to allow for a wide open entrance that leads to a dance floor
complete with bar and poles for dancing.
I’d obviously gotten the wrong tourist brochure. (I need to find a really good travel agent in
SL.)
There is no one else around. Not a mummy in sight! There is a haunting, empty feeling about the
place. I walk across the dance floor and
go out the rear entrance. (Yes, even
more architectural license!) Sand dunes
and a few palm trees are all that greet me.
Looking back on the pyramid, the shape is a bit more traditional but I’m
still underwhelmed.
This first visit to one of
the Ancient Wonders of the world has me a little worried about my future
expeditions. I’ve visited other ancient
sites, Alexandria and
Rome where there is much more attention to period detail and the scale is
bigger. I hope that subsequent sites
have more to them.
I don’t want to be
harsh. Some poor guy builds a cool
looking dance floor and bar based on the pyramids next door to a nude beach and
I roll through looking for Tutankhamun and
Howard
Carter. Looks like it
could be a good place to hang out if a crowd happened to be there. I don’t see any notices for parties or other
functions while at the pyramid. Or,
maybe I’ve stumbled across another abandoned sim.
My travels across SL have
brought me to many different places.
Admittedly, many of these journeys were random. Now, I’m setting out on a journey with a
purpose. (Scary isn’t it?) I’ll be searching for the famous sites from
antiquity.
My reasons for this journey
are twofold. First, how much of the
ancient world can I find inworld?
Second, how well has the ancient world been reconstructed? My travels to date have brought me in contact
with many residents who are either building worlds in SL or are living their
virtual lives there.
The Great Pyramid is the
first stop on this journey and I have six more to go. Anyone who would like to
join me for part or all of it, please reach out to me and we’ll work out the
calendars. I’d be glad for the company!
I’ve included links to
several pictures of the Great Pyramid that I took while there. But check the site out for yourself. Pictures, especially when I’m the
photographer, ar never as good as being there.
As always, I’m grateful to
all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was
passing through their lives.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo No. 1 The Great Pyramid
at Giza
Photo No. 2 Modern
Times
Photo No. 3 For
the Tourists
Photo No. 4 Where’s
the Pharaoh?
Photo No. 5 Wonder
What They Say?
Photo No. 6 View
Out the Back Door
Photo No. 7 Rear
View
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