Dec 2 - Head west across the Nile on Ring Road again, and turn south to Saqqara. I like the drive here much more than Giza, as it passes through date palm farms and small villages, rather than the crush of downtown.
This scene hasn’t changed much in centuries.
The horse pulls a cart and a camel.
The Saqqara site is just up on the desert plateau. It was the first area on which large funerary complexes were built, starting in the 3rd Dynasty.
Entrance to the Tomb of Kangmni, grand vizier to the Pharaoh Teti (6th Dynasty, about 2330 BCE). This is a wonderfully preserved building with a lot of great hieroglyphics.
A scene from the wall of the tomb, showing people on a raft, getting cattle to cross the river by holding one of their calves to the boat.
The men on the right are bringing fish to the royal accountants, to be paid with a fraction of their catch. The men on the left have already been taxed and are taking their portion home.
Some good color left on this 4000 year old artwork.
A short distance from this tomb is the pyramid of King Teti (c. 2323-2291 BCE). The pyramid is mostly rubble now, but the burial chamber below it still has abundant hieroglyphics. It has what is now called the ‘Pyramid Texts’, which are a series of hymns, prayers, and spells, written to protect the deceased and guide them to the afterlife.
The chamber with the sarcophagus has a ceiling decorated with stars. They would originally have been yellow with a dark blue background.
Some of the pyramid texts from Teti’s tomb.
The step pyramid of Djoser (r. about 2660 BCE). He was the founder of the 3rd Dynasty, and the first (ignoring alternative histories) to produce a large stone tomb. It technically is not a pyramid, since the base was originally not square, and the sides have six steps.
In the above photo, we are standing in what was originally a huge courtyard. It is said that this is where the pharaoh celebrated his Sed festival (30th anniversary of rule), though the question remains why he would do it here at his future tomb and not in the city.
The massive entrance gate to the Djoser necropolis.
Some columns along the entrance corridor.
I paid an extra ticket so we could go inside Djoser’s tomb. This was never open when I lived in Egypt. This corridor was made in the New Kingdom, over a thousand years later.
Looking down the central shaft to the tomb itself. This shaft is located at the center of the pyramid. The original stairway to get there had many turns and came from the northern side of the structure.
Just south of Djoser’s complex is the pyramid of Unas.
The name of Unas, written in the cartouches.
On to the Tomb of Ty, a place I had not previously visited. Ty was a senior official during the 5th Dynasty, living in about 2400 BCE.
The colors remaining in the wall art in this tomb are good. Here, boatmen on the Nile are unaware of a crocodile directly underneath.
A false door in Ty’s tomb.
Bringing offerings to the royal house.
The entryway to Ty’s tomb.
The valley temple for Unas. These structures were made at the point where the old Nile shoreline was. A stone-lined road went from here up the hill to the temple and tomb.
The hills behind the above valley temple were one of my favorite places to hunt for ancient artifacts. Now, there is security everywhere and you cannot stray from the designated paths. But years ago, it was a simple matter to just wander off the road and disappear behind a hill. Saqqara is a huge burial site, in which many thousands were interred over the millennia. I’m sure it is still possible to find mummies, and the various ceramic artifacts that are buried with them.
On to Memphis, the first capital of Pharaonic Egypt, located near the modern town of Mit Rahina. It is thought to have been founded by King Menes in about 3100 BCE. It was the captial during much of the Old Kingdom, and continued to be a ceremonial capital thereafter for the worship of the god Ptah. It was strategically placed, where the Nile began fanning out into a delta (today this point is much further north). Not a great deal is left of the city, as the site was re-used constantly since for farming and urban development. Only in 1979 was it recognized to have a wealth of statures and foundations and efforts were made to close it off from further damage.
Many of the artifacts on display at Memphis are actually from Ramses II (New Kingdom), so much later than when it was a full capital city.
A massive statue of Ramses II (r. 1279-1213 BCE) at the Memphis museum.
FUN FACT: Memphis was the capital at the time Egypt really began to rise in power and international status. The name ‘Egypt’ derives from the Greek name Aegyptus, which in turn comes from a translation of the name Hut-ka-Ptah (Temple of Ptah).
From here, head south to the site of Dashur. There are three Old Kingdom pyramids here, with another nearby from the Middle Kingdom. This site was never open while I lived in Egypt, becoming accessible to tourists in only 2019.
The Bent Pyramid, built by King Sneferu (c. 2600 BCE). This was actually the second of three pyramids he built, and they appear to follow a learning curve in how to construct a true pyramidal form. It started out at a 51 degree angle, but then changed to about 43 degrees halfway up. Why this was done is controversial, some saying that cracks developed and the angle was lessened to reduce the total weight and threat of collapse.
Unlike most pyramids, the outer smooth casing stones are largely intact.
To the south of the Bent Pyramid is a small tomb, presumably built for Sneferu’s wife, Hetepheres.
The passageways leading to the tomb chamber of the Bent Pyramid are not for sissies. It was a really long haul, most of it only about 4-5 feet in height.
The roof of the tomb chamber.
Odette graded the Bent Pyramid with high marks because of the bats we found inside.
The Red Pyramid, as seen from the Bent Pyramid. It was also built by Sneferu, after the Bent Pyramid, with a continuous 43 degree angle. It is called ‘red’ because the stones used to make it are a slightly reddish limestone.
We also went to the central tomb chamber of the Red Pyramid, which as also a bit challenging due to the length and short height of the entryways.
Some fields seen on the way back from Dashur.
Back to Cairo by sunset. Eat at the Cafe Riche near Talaat Harb Square, which has been in operation since 1908.
