Ancient Memphis and the Saqqara Archaeological Sites are Also Amazing…...

Memphis, founded around 5,000 years ago was the first unified capital of Upper and Lower Egypt. Unfortunately there isn’t much left here today but excavations are still yielding treasures. Memphis is today basically an open-air museum located in a grove of date palms—very green and very lush. The main attraction here is the giant limestone statue of Ramses II. It is so large they had to build an elevated walkway so it could be photographed. The garden area also has an 80-ton calcite sphinx (half man/half lion) statue and other ancient stones and hieroglyphics.
It was nearby Saqqara, however, that was the highlight of the trip. It is one of the richest archaeological sites in Egypt and they still don’t have any ideal how many more tombs, pyramids and statues are remaining under the sand. The towering structure here is the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Built on six step-levels, it is nowhere as impressive as the Giza pyramids but it is thought to be the oldest pyramid in Egypt and therefore the blueprint for those who followed. A temple there, being reconstructed for the past 25 years, is also thought to be one of the earliest and therefore a template for others. There are a number of lesser pyramids here and tombs. The tombs are open to the public and were much more detailed and interesting than the one at the Great Pyramid. My tour group went into the tomb inside the Pyramid of Teti—again very claustrophobic but well worth the bent-over trip through the stone tunnel. Inside were hieroglyphics, a stone sarcophagus and several sacrificial stone altars.

The Egyptian government seems to be taking restoration and conservation of antiquities seriously but there are still major problems. The policeman pictured here on a camel is one of many who actually patrol the area 24/7 to prevent artifact robbers. The problem is that the corruption system sets in all too often—cameras were prevented in the Teti Pyramid tombs but the guides offered to let us use cell phone cameras for a “fee.”

This is the Sahara Desert, stretching west through Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. Very little of Egypt is fertile soil but it is strikingly obvious where the ancient flood plain meets the desert—lush green vegetables and date palms become a giant sandbox at a very distinct line.

All in all, this was very different from the Giza pyramids but just as interesting today…..