Dahshur Things to Do

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The Red Pyramid, so called because in certain light it looks red, was built by Sneferu, father of Khufu, in about 2600 BC. It is 99m high with sides of 220m.
Entry is possible, although it is hot and sticky at the best of times. A 27 degree sloping ramp leads down 63 m. There are 3 chambers linked by a single corridor. The ceiling is corbelled. The second chamber lies directly under the apex of the pyramid, and the burial chamber is through a passageway. This chamber is 15m high.
The entrance to the pyramid is lower down that usually expected.

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The Bent pyramid was built by Sneferu in about 2600 BC. He also built the Red Pyramid. Both pyramids are about the same height and are the 3rd highest after the two large Giza Pyramids.The pyramid was built on gravel of the local limestone and faced with the finer Turah limestone. The original slope was 54 degrees but whether because of stress or a shortage of funds, it was altered to 43 degrees.
Its height is 101 m and theeach side is 188.6 m.
The main entrance is on the north face, but there are two other entrances, one on the west about half-way up.
It is not possible to go inside but cedar beams were found. At the east is a small mortuary temple or shrine. There is also a small subsidiary pyramid possibly for a queen.
Sneferu was the father of Khufu/Cheops who built the Great Pyramid

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The only pyramid at Dahshur which you can actually enter, the Red Pyramid was the third pyramid constructed for Snofru, and may have been his final resting place. It's capstone, a rare discovery, was uncovered and is displayed here (apologies for that photograph, a piece of dirt got onto the lens, blown off the desert!).

One of the nice things about visiting Dahshur is that not too many tourists come here. You get to wander around these wonderful ancient monuments without being subjected to the vast hordes that you get at other sites!

It's currently (March 2008) 25LE to get into the area, and another 5LE to pay for parking if you came by taxi.

The pyramid is entered on the north side, about a third of the way up it's height, and a very low passage angles fairly sharply down, leading you into the heart of the construction. There is lighting, but I'd suggest bringing a torch anyway, as you're walking down a wooden plank with nothing but metal strips across it to stop you sliding. A short corridor at the bottom leads to the first chamber, followed by another corridor to the second chamber. A modern wooden staircase at the back of this leads to the third and final chamber (where I took the slightly sneaky interior shot).

It's quite warm on the inside, and the air is a bit stale and musty. I did find that while it's fascinating and fantastic to actually go inside a pyramid, you don't really want to hang around in there too long!

Dahshur is probably best known for the Bent Pyramid, built for the pharoah Snofru, which is thought to be a transitional form between step pyramids and the smooth-sided ones that everyone thinks of as true pyramids. It's believed that the steeper angle of the lower part made the structure unstable, and so it had to be finished at a much shallower inclination.

Sadly it's out of bounds, since it's still part of a military area, but you can wander round to the back of the Red Pyramid to get a good view of it.

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The Red Pyramid was built in an angle of 43 degrees after the "failure of the "beny" pyramid. As such, it became the first proper pyramid. The Red Pyramid is the third largest pyramid in Egypt.

This pyramid was openned in late 1990's and there were a few crowds, if any. So it is nice to go into the burial chamber without a heavy human traffic along the passage. (as see in pic). The inside chamber is nice and there is some wooden staircases where you need to climb (see pic).

Entrance fee to the area is 20 pounds. There also is a fee for the car of 2 pounds. From the entrance the road leads to the Red Pyramid.

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From the parking lot there is a stair up to the entrance of the Red Pyramid. The entrance is 30 metres up and from there you can see the pyramids of Saqqara. A passage is leading 65 metres down to the chambers. The first chamber has a 12 metres high corbelled ceiling. The second chamber is the burial chamber and there the corbelled ceiling is 15 metres high. Not until I was on my way out of the pyramid did I meet other people. It was nice to see such an old and interesting monument without the crowds you see in many other places in Egypt.
There is no extra fee to enter the pyramid.

After the Bent Pyramid pharaoh Sneferu (2613 - 2589 BC) had a new pyramid built, the Red Pyramid (North Pyramid). This time the pyramid was built in an angle of 43 degrees from the beginning and therefore it became the first proper pyramid. Together with the Bent Pyramid the Red Pyramid is the third largest pyramid in Egypt.

Entrance fee to the area is 20 pounds. There also is a fee for the car of 2 pounds. From the entrance the road leads to the Red Pyramid where there is a parking lot.