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It is also told that when al-Ma’mun, son of Harun al-Rashid, entered Egypt the Well-Guarded, he wished to demolish the pyramids and take what lay within them. But when he attempted their destruction, he found himself unable to accomplish it, though he labored mightily and spent great sums upon the undertaking. And morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

Then, when it was the three hundred and ninety-eighth night,

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that al-Ma’mun strove to demolish the pyramids and spent vast sums upon the undertaking, yet could not pull them down. He succeeded only in making a small opening in one of them. It is said that in this opening he found treasure equal to the sum he had spent in making it, neither more nor less. Al-Ma’mun marveled at this, then took what he found there and abandoned his purpose. The pyramids are three in number, and they are among the wonders of the world. Nothing upon the face of the earth has ever equaled them in strength, perfection of workmanship, or height, for they are built of enormous stones. The builders who raised them bored holes in either end of each stone and set iron rods upright within them; then they bored holes in the next stone and lowered it over the rods, pouring molten lead around them according to the principles of geometry. When the buildings were complete, each pyramid rose a hundred cubits into the air, reckoning by the cubit in use at that time. Their bases are square, their sides slope upward from the outer edges, and each measures three hundred cubits across. The ancients say that within the western pyramid are thirty chambers of flint, filled with precious jewels, immense riches, strange statues, and splendid implements and weapons coated with an ointment devised through secret wisdom, so that they will not rust until the Day of Resurrection. There, too, are glass that folds without breaking, all manner of compounded medicines, and waters prepared by secret arts. In the second pyramid are the records of the priests, inscribed upon tablets of flint. Each priest has his own tablet of wisdom, on which are recorded the wonders of his craft and his deeds. Upon the walls are human figures like idols, seated in their appointed ranks and practicing every craft with their hands. Each pyramid has a guardian appointed to watch over it, and these guardians preserve them through the ages from the calamities of time. The wonders of the pyramids have bewildered those gifted with insight and keen vision alike. Many poems have been composed in their praise, yet none has succeeded in doing them justice. Among them are these words of a poet:

When kings would have their lofty deeds remembered after death, they let their buildings speak. Do you not see the two pyramids standing still, unchanged by all the blows of time? And another poet said:

Look upon the two pyramids, and hear the tales they tell of ages past. Could they but speak, they would reveal what time has done to first and last. And another said:

My friend, is there beneath the sky a building that rivals Egypt’s two pyramids in the perfection of its craft? Here are buildings that Time itself fears, while all who dwell upon the earth live in fear of Time. My eyes have wandered with delight through the marvels of their construction, yet my mind has found no such delight in fathoming their purpose. And another said:

Where is he who built the two pyramids? Who were his people? When did he live, and where did he fall? The monuments outlive their makers for a while; then death overtakes them too, and down they fall.