Cairo

Sakkara Pyramids

The Step Pyramid.  Zoser was the second king of the 3rd Dynasty. It is believed that a man named Imhotep built the step pyramid of Zoser. Some scholars think this tomb was intended for a member of Zoser's family and not for himself.  This is Egypt's first major work in stone.The original structure was an underground burial chamber. This chamber was rare in that it was square; most mastabas were rectangular. The royal tomb is 28m underground with a vertical shaft leading to it. The entrance was sealed with a 3-ton piece of granite.  The Pyramid of Unas  Unas was the last king of the 5th Dynasty. This pyramid lies south ofthe Step Pyramid. This pyramid is also in poor condition but theburialchambersare worththevisit. In this chamber,youwillfindtheearliestEgyptianfunerarytextscarvedintothewallsandfilledwith ablue pigment. These arereferred to asthePyramidTexts.You may enter the pyramid from thenorthside.Trying to block the way, are three huge slabs of granite.Once inside the chamber, you will find the Pyramid Textsthat were intended to helpthepharaoh's soul in the afterworld. They were to help the soul find Re, the sun god. Pyramid of Teti .  Kind Teti was the founder of the 6th Dynasty. His pyramid is now mostly a pile of rubble in constant danger of being covered by the sand. There is a steep pathway that leads to the funerary chamber. The chamber ceiling is decorated with stars

Memphis

Built in 3,100 BC, Memphis is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. By the 3rd Dynasty, the building at Sakkara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable city. Menes founded the city by creating dikes to protect the area from Nile floods. This great city of the Old Kingdom became theadministrative and religious center of Egypt It became a cosmopolitan community and was probably one of the largest and mostimportantcities in the ancient world. The city must have been huge, judging from the size of its necropolises whichextend forsome 19 miles along the west bank of the Nile that included Dahshur, Sakkara , Abusir, Zawyet el-Aryan, Giza and AbuRawash. But there is little left of the city today. Originally, the city had many fine temples, palaces and gardens. But today, other thanthescattered ruins, most of the city is gone, or lies beneath cultivated fields, Nile silt and local villages. What we do know of Memphis comes to us from its necropolises, mentioned above, text and papyrus from other parts of Egypt and Herodotus, who visited the city. The fraction we can see of Memphis today is located principally around the small village of Mit Rahina . Ptah was the principle pagan god worshipped here.

Pyramids of Abu Sir

The Pyramids of Abu Sir (near Sakkara ) consisted of 14 pyramids from the 5th Dynasty. Only 4 are still standing, Of the four there is Neferefre which was never finished and is in very poor condition, Neferikare which is also unfinished and the tallest of the group standing 68 meters high, the pyramid of Niuserre which has a very famous funerary temple and the pyramid of Sahure with it's funerary temple.

Dahshour Pyramids

In Souuth Sakkara stand the pyramids of Dahshour. The Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid are about 2 km south of the Mastaba Pharaoun.  The Red Pyramid is thought to be older and is the only one that can be entered at this time.  The Bent Pyramid was built out of limestone which was quarried locally. The Bent Pyramid is unique for two reasons.  The first is the angle change. There are two theories for this change. The first is that the builders may have gotten tired and wanted to reduce the volume and to finish faster. Another is that when the pyramid at Maidum collapsed, the architect lost his nerve and changed the angle.  The second reason is that it has two entrances. The first is in the middle of the northern side and is about 12m above the ground. It leads to the upper chamber. The second entrance is on the western side and is just above the ground. It leads to the lower chamber

Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian  Museum is located at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Built in 1897 it consists of 107 halls comprising: - Huge Pharaonic statues and sarcophagi on the Ground Floor - Tutankhamen treasures - Pre-dynasty and the Old Kingdom monuments - First intermediate period and the Middle Kingdom monuments - Monuments of the Modern Kingdom - Monuments of the late period and the Greek and Roman periods - Coins and papyrus - Sarcophagi and scarabs - Hall for royal mummies housing eleven kings and queens