GERMANY: Two intellectuals have launched a project to build a copy of the Egyptian pyramids in the declining eastern city of Dessau as a burial site not for a lone king but for five million people. They say it would grow slowly - one concrete memorial slab at a time - but could within a couple of decades dwarf the Great Pyramid of Giza.
"You could certainly see it from space," author Ingo Niermann told AFP. - IoL Travel 4/10/08
RUSSIA: You can see it from miles away, looming over the birch forests and wildflower fields and construction sites crammed with future dachas for Russia's rich and ruthless.
"You can't expect to build a pyramid and see everything change overnight. It happens gradually," says Alexander Golod, a Ukrainian defense contractor who has spent millions of dollars building pyramids around the former Soviet Union and beyond...
Asked what drives his obsession with pyramids, Golod takes a long time to answer. He blinks his blue eyes. Finally, he says: "The pyramid changes the structure of space." - Boston.com
FRANCE: Pyramids have often been attributed with mystical properties, from resurrecting pharaohs to re-sharpening blunt razor blades, but last week those clever architects Herzog and de Meuron unveiled a new piece of pyramid-powered prestidigitation with their new Triangle project in Paris: the building will cast no shadows.
It all sounds a bit David Copperfield, but it's not done with mirrors. Instead, the Tate Modern designers have crafted an ingenious computer-aided skinny pyramid design for the 50-storey building – more like a shark's fin - which, thanks to its shape and orientation, will not block out sunlight from its neighbours, they say. The shape will also allow for "optimum solar and wind power generation", apparently.
- Guardian
MEXICO: Several stone sculptures recently found in central Mexico point to a previously unknown culture that likely built a mysterious pyramid in the region, archaeologists say. Archaeologists first found the objects about 15 years ago in the valley of Tulancingo, a major canyon that drops off into Mexico's Gulf Coast.
Most of the 41 artifacts "do not fit into any of the known cultures of the Valley of Tulancingo, or the highlands of central Mexico," said Carlos Hernández, an archaeologist at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History in the central state of Hidalgo. - National Geographic
EGYPT: Visitors to Egypt may soon be able to see another ancient site - as archaeologists have discovered a pair of 4,300-year-old tombs. The crypts - uncovered at Saqqara, 12 miles south of Cairo - were built for high officials, according to reports. Furthermore, more discoveries could be on the way, according to comments made by Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass. - Hostelbookers
EGYPT: TRANSFORMERS 2 - This sequel - titled Revenge Of The Fallen - once again sees stars Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox battling shape-shifting robots who are threatening the earth. As our heroes try to save the planet, they discover the secret of the Transformers might be in the pyramids of Egypt.- Sunday Mail
Secrets? Pyramids? Didn't Shia go through all of that in Indiana Jones? Anyhow, keep that in mind when you read this:
The U.S. Department of Defense gave its official stamp of approval to the Michael Bay-directed film, not only allowing production amid the pristine dunes of the Army's New Mexico missile range, but also letting filmmakers follow jets and fighter planes through the sky from nearby Holloman Air Force Base. More scenes were shot on the Navy's aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, and Marines fill the ranks of the strike team battling the invading Transformers.- USA Today
MEMPHIS: The Shelby County Commission on Monday approved a development agreement that would turn the vacant, 32-story Pyramid arena into a Bass Pro Shops retail location...
...The Pyramid was the city’s primary sports and entertainment venue until 2004 when the FedExForum opened. At the time the Pyramid opened, city officials hoped it would become a symbol identifying the city like the Gateway Arch had done for St. Louis.DUBAI: is building another masterpiece structure shaped like a pyramid. The structure called Ziggurat will house nearly one million people and will be self-sustainable with all natural-energy sources. Like the pyramids of the Mayans and Egyptians, this new structure in Dubai is a giant; it will cover 2.3 square kilometers (0.88 square miles) and will be able to sustain a community of up to one million people.
The “Ziggurat” is named after the temple towers of the ancient Mesopotamian valley, a terraced pyramid structure with successively receding stories. It will be a carbon-neutral structure.- Digital JournalDUBAI: Falcon City is aiming to break some records as some of its attractions are set to be bigger than the original landmarks. With a total project value of Dh7.5 million and shaped like a falcon when seen from above, it incorporates not only residential units, hotels and a theme park, but there will also be imitations of world-famous landmarks.
These include the Eiffel Tower, Pyramids of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Venice, leaning tower of Pisa and the Taj Mahal. The Eiffel Tower is set to be 20 metres taller than the original in Paris. The largest pyramid will be approximately 40 storeys and 150 metres high, slightly taller than Khufu's, the largest of the three pyramids in Egypt.
Salem Al Moosa, Chairman of Falconcity said, "The Great Wall of China will stretch approximately 1.7 km but this figure could change depending on developments within the theme park." - Gulf News
