By Zahi Hawass I have met Queen Sofia of Spain four times, three times in Giza and once in Spain. I first met her majesty when she was accompanying an important group from Spain to the Pyramids. At that time I was a young archaeologist and had just started excavating at Giza. No one told me that the queen was joining this group. I was very surprised when I met her because she had heard of me and called me by name. I took the group to visit the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx and the Solar Boat Museum. On our second meeting, she came with the king. This visit was incredible. I found out that she was knowledgeable about the site and very interested in ancient Egyptian history. When we went down to the Sphinx, I took the king and queen to the secret tunnel we had found in the back of the Sphinx. I explained the mystery that surrounds the Sphinx and how some people believe that a record of a lost civilisation is hidden under the right paw of the Sphinx. I told them that we know of four tunnels that have been found inside the Sphinx. The first is behind the granite Dream Stelae of Thutmoses IV. The second is located behind the head of the Sphinx, and is cut into the rock of the Sphinx's body. This is about five metres deep. The third tunnel can be seen in the old photographs taken by Baraize, in which workmen are seen taking sand and stones from a tunnel on the north side. The fourth tunnel is the one I showed to the king and queen. It is located in the tail of the Sphinx and goes in for about 15 metres. I entered this tunnel for the first time when we were doing restoration work on the Sphinx. One of the workmen told me that his grandfather had told him he saw a tunnel in the back of the Sphinx, and indeed when I entered the tunnel I found an old pair of shoes that proved that at least one man had entered the tunnel before we did. Queen Sofia told me she had heard about my discovery of the tombs of the Pyramid builders, which proved that the Pyramids were built by Egyptians. The king and queen asked to see the excavation. At first I thought the visit would never happen because the security authorities did not want to accommodate the queen on the grounds that they could not secure the area because in order to get to the site we needed to pass through the village of Nazlet Al-Samman. The queen, however, insisted on seeing the site, so we left the media behind and went ahead to the excavation of the tombs of the Pyramid builders. She wanted to learn about the ordinary Egyptians -- the men and woman who had built the Pyramids. I explained that 10,000 Egyptians were involved in the construction of the Giza Pyramids. I gave the king and queen a copy of my book Women in Ancient Egypt, and later I sent the queen a copy of my famous book on the Valley of the Golden Mummies. I was invited by the Association of Egyptology to give a lecture in Madrid about my discoveries in Giza. The queen attended my talk, which was given in a special auditorium -- the same auditorium in which, in 1924, Howard Carter presented a lecture about his discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Before my lecture I met the queen and the Egyptian ambassador. It was a wonderful meeting, and I saw her modesty and charm. The queen thanked me for sending her my books and I gave her another book that I had just finished. The last time I met the queen was right after the inauguration of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. She came on a tour bus with a camera in her hand. When she arrived she said she was here just to visit all my discoveries. It was an incredible adventure, and I felt honoured to show them to her. We talked as we walked in the tombs that I found in the Western Cemetery, especially the tomb of priest Kay. I call this tomb the Nefertari of Giza because of the beautiful coloured wall scenes. We walked to the south of the Pyramid of Menkaure and I showed her the double statue of Ramses II that I had found, as well as the satellite Pyramid that I found to the east of the Great Pyramid. Again we visited the tombs of the Pyramid builders. Queen Sofia was talking, asking questions and taking lots of photographs -- she took many snapshots of me explaining my discoveries. I will never forget this visit or giving a lecture in her presence in Spain. The lecture was translated and I was telling jokes. Before the translator could repeat my words in Spanish, I could hear her laugh. I could also hear the laugh of my friend Luis Moneral, who was sitting in the first row beside the queen.
