Wonders of the Old Kingdom. Lights! Action! Magic!

Please click on the thumbnails to view the larger images.

A new day dawns as we travel South of Cairo to *1 Memphis, the capital city of the Old Kingdom, 2575 to 2551 B.C. Only a few pitiful ruins of this once great city remain. Included is a small weather-damaged alabaster Sphinx and, housed in small museum, a colossus of Ramesses, or Ozymandias as the Greeks called him. The statue is badly damaged and lying on its back, as found.

*2 "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye mighty and despair!"

Our next stop, not far from Memphis, is Saqqara, with its famous Steppe Pyramid of Djoser, believed to be the oldest one in Egypt. It was built by the legendary Imhotep, architect, high priest, and astronomer, to name just a few of his accomplishments. The tomb started out as a Mastaba, the flat roofed tombs characteristic of the early dynasties, but Imhotep kept changing his mind, enlarging and adding additional graduated landings (steppes), until there were six in all. Some of the chambers and passages of the tomb were lined with beautiful blue tiles and an impressive statue of Djoser was found buried in one of them. Unfortunately, due to deterioration, the pyramid is not safe to explore.

The ancient Temple of Djoser, built in the third dynasty, is the oldest known stone complex, with the possible exception of the Sphinx Temple, whose date of construction is unknown. Most of the temple has been painstakenly reconstructed. The fine enclosure wall does not look ancient, but like a modern building of today. We enter through the small entrance, past the false doors to the colonade, which consists of 40 reeded columns, in imitation of bound bunches of reeds. Through the colonade we pass into the spacious, open Great Court, where it is believed the great Heb-Sed festivals were held. Little is actually known about this festival itself, but it is thought to have included human sacrifice.

In the northern buildings we take note of the papyrus colunms carved on the facade.

In the southern buildings are found the oldest graffiti in history, (1550 - 1196 B.C.) written by tourists, recording their impressions on the walls. Some of the visitors were very impressed, some not.

"...as though heaven were within it. *3 Re rising from it."
"...All good and pure things fall to the * 4 Ka of the justified Zozer."

Go To Page: 1 2 3