 | Cairo Memphis and Sakkara Reviews | Tips 11 - 20 of 90 |  |
It's something that you have to visit when you are there: Memphis, Sakkara and Gizeh.
Memphis is a little open air museum. The most important thing to see are the big sculpture of Ramses II inside a little building and the sfinx outside..... Daily open from 9 am untill 4 pm. Leave a Comment |
Most important to see at the Sakkara site is the stairs pyramid of king Djoser which was build 2650 BC. This wasn't only the first pyramid but also the first building made by stone in the whole world. Around the pyramid you will find a lot of graves.
The site is opened daily from 9 am till 5 pm (think about different openingtimes during Ramadan) Leave a Comment |
Memphis is the oldest capital of Egypt is 24km south of Cairo. The open air museum has various statues, the alabaster sphinx and the most beautiful status of Ramses II which is 13 meters long and weight about 120 tons.
The entrance fee is 25 L.E. Leave a Comment |
Memphis is the oldest capital of Egypt located about 45 to an hour drive from Cairo. Here you can find the open air museum that showcases different kinds of statues for Ramses II, a statue of an alabaster Sphinx, Triad of memphis, Stone coffin etc.
A special room for the huge statue of Ramses II is located just within the area. The statue is well preserved and in a very good condition.
Just wondering how did they know that the statue was made in honor of Ramses II? Most of the statues that you can find in Cairo/ Egypt, there is a stamp called "Cartoush" which states the name to whom the statue was made for. In this case, the stamp or cartoush is located on the right shoulder of the statue which says "Ramses II" (check photo no. 3)
Also, the statue was carved in one big block of stone...perfectly made with its muscles, ears, arms and fingers clearly defined.
Note:
All the statues of the pharaohs are made similar to each other..with its common features like a false beard, headdress, dagger, right foot at the back and defined muscles of the body. |
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This Alabaster Sphinx can be found in Memphis open air museum. The statue is made from a white stone called alabaster and so it was called as such.
They say that the statue of a Sphinx is patterned from a head of a pharaoh for "intelligence" while the body of a lion for "strength". This kind of figure is made in honor of a King to represent that they rule the whole Egypt and they have the power to control it.
Although there are many theories to whom this statue was made for, our tourguide says that it was made in honor of Hatshepsut, the first and only female ruler of Egypt during 1700BC.
This staue was made just like any other for a pharaoh, without any trace that it was made for a female ruler because she believed that she is "female ruler who ruled as a King."
In this figure, they didnt find any cartoush from the statue. |
The Triad of memphis is another statue which you can find in the Memphis open air museum.
This statue or carving was made in honor of the 3 gods namely PTAH: The Creator and the chief god of Memphis. SEKHMET: The goddess of love, war and protection and Nefertem: the son of Ptah and Sekhmet also known as the protector of the two lands.
In the carvings, Ptah was represented with a hawk head holding a scepter, Sekhmet has a lion head with a moon carving on top of her head while Nefertem has a lotus flower on top of his head. |
The Step Pyramid is the first ever built pyramid in Egypt located in Sakkara, the former capital of Egypt. The pyramid was build for King Djoser in 2000++ BC. It may not be as perfect as the one in Giza but the whole complex is a manifestation of a great architecture.
The complex was not only used for burials but also for ceremonies and other religious activities for the King during that time.
Also, on your way to the pyramid, you will pass by a pathway wherein you will see huge pillars on the sides. They say these are just a representation of the real pillars which the ancient Egyptians used to build houses etc. Through the used of the plant papyrus, they bundle the plants together and that would be enough to hold a roof or serve as pillar of the house. |
The Step Pyramid is the main attraction of Saqqara I must say. It is the oldest pyramid in the world, built by architect Imhotep for pharaoh Zoser in 2650 BC.
I only managed to visit a tomb during my super short visit to Saqqara though. I didn’t get to go into Zoser’s Funerary Complex, where the Step Pyramid is located. Only saw it from afar. You definitely need some kinda transportation here; hire a taxi or something. Walking is not an option as all attractions in Saqqara are scattered and quite far from each other.
My experience when I was in saqqara was that I got really excited when I first entered a tomb that was nearby Zoser’s Funerary Complex. It was the tomb of Mere-Ruka Dyn VI, built in 2340 BC. Because Cairo was my first destination, I hadn’t seen reliefs on the wall before. Only in the next few days I’d see more of those in Luxor, Aswan, etc. it was a nice feeling as you’d get really up close to study the hieroglyphs. First of all, the carving on the wall itself is already an art. And secondly, the fact that those symbols of bird, beetle, dog etc carried meanings which then tell you a story, it even gets more exciting. I didn’t want to get out so soon when I was there. Taking pictures wasn’t allowed in there so I took time admiring every part of the walls in there, and dragged one of the guards outside with me to read me the stories on the wall. :-) Leave a Comment |
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Memphis is situated some 20 km from Cairo. It was the most important city for the Old Kingdom of Egypt. As a capital since about 2000 BC it was also the biggest city in Egypt at the time. The most importent site is the huge statue of Ramses II which is realy in very good condition. There you can also find the Alabaster Sphinx as well as a beautiful gardens with some more statues. Leave a Comment |
Saqqara is actualy an ancient necropolis in the time when Memphis was a capital. It's most famous site is the Step Pyramid of Zoser (Djoser), the oldest perserved Pyramid in Egypt as well as the oldest stone structure known in the history. Besides this there are another 16 Pyramides but not in the very good conditions. The Pyramid of Pharaoh Unas should be mentioned here as the first Pyramyd that have "talked", in fact, the first anciant texts were found here used as a decoration of the burial room walls. Leave a Comment |
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