Monument sights in Cairo
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Bent Pyramid
Experimenting with ways to create a true, smooth-sided pyramid, Sneferu's architects began with the same steep angle and inward-leaning courses of stone they used to create step pyramids. When this began to show signs of stress and instability around halfway up its eventual 105m height, they had little choice but to reduce the angle from 54 degrees to 43 degrees and begin to lay the stones in horizontal layers. This explains why the structure has the unusual shape that gives it its name.
Most of its outer casing is still intact, and inside (closed to visitors) are two burial chambers, the highest of which retains its original ancient scaffolding of great cedar beams to c…
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Red Pyramid
The world's oldest true pyramid is the North Pyramid, which is better known as the Red Pyramid. It derives its name either from the red tones of its weathered limestone, after the better-quality white limestone casing was removed, or perhaps from the red graffiti and construction marks scribbled on its masonry in ancient times.
Having learnt from their experiences building the Bent Pyramid, the same architects carried on where they had left off, building the Red Pyramid at the same 43-degree angle as the Bent Pyramid's more gently inclining upper section. The entrance - via 125 extremely steep stone steps and a 63m-long passage - takes you down to two antechambers with st…
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Zoser's Funerary Complex
The hypostyle hall leads into the Great South Court, a huge open area flanking the south side of the pyramid, with a section of wall featuring a frieze of cobras. The cobra, or uraeus, represented the goddess Wadjet, a fire-spitting agent of destruction and protector of the pharaoh. It was a symbol of Egyptian royalty, and a rearing cobra always appeared on the brow of a pharaoh's headdress or crown.
Near the base of the pyramid is an altar, and in the centre of the court are two stone B-shaped boundary markers, which delineated the ritual race the pharaoh had to run, a literal demonstration of his fitness to rule. The race was part of the Jubilee Festival, or Heb-Sed, wh…
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Pyramid of Unas
What appears to be another big mound of rubble to the southwest of Zoser's funerary complex, is actually the 2375-2345 BC Pyramid of Unas, the last pharaoh of the 5th dynasty. Built only 300 years after the inspired creation of the Step Pyramid, this unassuming pile of loose blocks and debris once stood 43m high.
From the outside, the Pyramid of Unas is not much to look at, though the interior marked the beginning of a significant development in funerary practices. For the first time, the royal burial chamber was decorated, its ceiling adorned with stars and its white alabaster-lined walls inscribed with beautiful blue hieroglyphs.
The aforementioned hieroglyphs are the fu…
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Step Pyramid
In the year 2650 BC, Imhotep, the pharaoh's chief architect (later deified), built the Step Pyramid for Zoser. It is Egypt's (and the world's) earliest stone monument, and its significance cannot be overstated. Previously, temples were made of perishable materials, while royal tombs were usually underground rooms topped with mud-brick mastabas. However, Imhotep developed the mastaba into a pyramid and built it in hewn stone. From this flowed Egypt's later architectural achievements.
The pyramid was transformed from mastaba into pyramid through six separate stages of construction and alteration. With each stage, the builders gained confidence in their use of the new medium…
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Serapeum
The Serapeum, which is dedicated to the sacred Apis bull, is one of the highlights of visiting Saqqara. The Apis bulls were by far the most important of the cult animals entombed at Saqqara. The Apis, it was believed, was an incarnation of Ptah, the god of Memphis, and was the calf of a cow struck by lightning from heaven. Once divinely impregnated, the cow could never again give birth, and her calf was kept in the Temple of Ptah at Memphis and worshipped as a god.
The Apis was always portrayed as black, with a distinctive white diamond on its forehead, the image of a vulture on its back and a scarab-shaped mark on its tongue. When it died, the bull was mummified on one o…
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Tombs of Mereruka & Ankhmahor
Near the Pyramid of Teti is the tomb of his highest official, Mereruka, vizier and overseer of priests. It's the largest Old Kingdom courtier's tomb, with 32 chambers covering an area of 1000 sq metres. The 17 chambers on the eastern side belong to Mereruka, and include a magnificent six-columned offering hall featuring a life-size statue of Mereruka appearing to walk right out of the wall to receive the offerings brought to him.
Other rooms are reserved for Mereruka's wife, Princess Seshseshat (Teti's daughter), and their eldest son, Meriteti (whose name means 'Beloved of Teti'). Much of the tomb's decoration is similar to that of the Mastaba of Ti, with an even greater …
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Mastaba of Ti
Northeast of the Philosophers' Circle is the Mastaba of Ti, which was discovered by Mariette in 1865. It is perhaps the grandest and most detailed private tomb at Saqqara, and one of our main sources of knowledge about life in Old Kingdom Egypt. Its owner, Ti, was overseer of the Abu Sir pyramids and sun temples (among other things) during the 5th dynasty. In fact, the superb quality of his tomb is in keeping with his nickname, Ti the Rich.
Like Zoser, a life-size statue of the deceased stands in the tomb's offering hall (as with the Zoser statue, the original is in the Egyptian Museum). Ti's wife, Neferhetpes, was priestess and 'royal acquaintance'. Together with their t…
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Serdab
A stone structure right in front of the pyramid, the serdab (a small room containing a statue of the deceased to which offerings were presented) contains a slightly tilted wooden box with two holes drilled into its north face. Look through these and you'll have the eerie experience of coming face to face with Zoser himself. Inside is a near-life-size, lifelike painted statue of the long-dead pharaoh, gazing stonily out towards the stars.
It's worth noting that this statue is only a copy - the original statue is in Cairo's Egyptian Museum. The original entrance to the Step Pyramid is directly behind the serdab, and leads down to a maze of subterranean tunnels and chambers…
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Tomb of Akhethotep & Ptahhotep
Akhethotep and his son Ptahhotep were senior royal officials during the reigns of Djedkare (2414-2375 BC) and Unas at the end of the 5th dynasty. Akhethotep served as vizier, judge, supervisor of pyramid cities and supervisor of priests, though his titles were eventually inherited by Ptahhotep, along with his tomb. The joint mastaba has two burial chambers, two chapels and a pillared hall.
The painted reliefs in Ptahhotep's section are particularly beautiful, and portray a wide range of animals, from lions and hedgehogs to the domesticated cattle and fowl, that were brought as offerings to the deceased. Ptahhotep himself is portrayed resplendent in a panther-skin robe inh…
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Saite & Persian Tombs
Around the sides of the Pyramid of Unas are several large shaft tombs of the Saite (664-525 BC) and Persian (525-404 BC) eras. These are some of the deepest tombs in Egypt, although the precaution against grave robbers failed. However, the sheer size of the tombs and the great stone sarcophagi within, combined with their sophisticated decoration, demonstrate that the technical achievements of the later part of Egyptian history were equal to those of earlier times.
To the north of the pyramid is the enormous tomb shaft of the Saite general Amun-Tefnakht. On the south side of the pyramid is a group of three Persian tombs - the entrance is covered by a small wooden hut to wh…
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Pyramid of Sahure
Sahure (2487-2475 BC) was the first of the 5th-dynasty pharaohs to be buried at Abu Sir, although his pyramid, originally 50m high, is now badly damaged. The entrance corridor is only half a metre high, and slopes down to a small room. From there, you can then walk through a 75m-long corridor before crawling 2m on your stomach through Pharaonic dust and spider webs to reach the burial chamber.
The better-preserved remains of Sahure's funerary temple complex stand east of the pyramid. This must have been an impressive temple, with black basalt-paved floors, red granite date-palm columns and walls decorated with 10,000 sq metres of superbly detailed reliefs (some of these a…
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Royal Sun Temples of Abu Ghorab
Just northwest of the Abu Sir pyramids lies the site of Abu Ghorab, which is home to two royal sun temples dedicated to the worship of Ra, the sun god of Heliopolis. The Abu Sir Papyri describe six such temples, but only two, built for Pharaohs Userkaf (2494-2487 BC) and Nyuserra, have ever been discovered.
Both of these temples follow the traditional plan of a valley temple, and contain a causeway and a large stone enclosure. This enclosure contains a large limestone obelisk standing some 37m tall on a 20m-high base. In front of the obelisk, the enormous alabaster altar can still be seen. Made in the form of a solar disc flanked by four 'hotep' signs (the hieroglyphic si…
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Pyramid of Sekhemket
Closed to the public because of its dangerous condition, the unfinished Pyramid of Sekhemket of Zoser's successor Sekhemket (2648-2640 BC) is a short distance west of the ruined monastery. The project was abandoned for unknown reasons when the great limestone enclosure wall was only 3m high, despite the fact that the architects had already constructed the underground chambers in the rock beneath the pyramid as well as the deep shaft of the south tomb.
An unused travertine sarcophagus was found in the sealed burial chamber, and a quantity of gold, jewellery and a child's body were discovered in the south tomb. Recent surveys have also revealed another mysterious large com…
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Giza Plateau
It can be a bit of a shock to visit the Giza Plateau and realise that the sandy mound that’s home to the Pyramids is actually plonked in the middle of the congested city suburb of Giza. There are two entrances: one via a continuation of Pyramids Rd (Sharia al-Haram) at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and another below the Sphinx, in the village of Nazlet as-Samaan. Most independent visitors enter from Pyramids Rd, as this is where the bus and minibus from Downtown stop. Follow the road up from the roundabout towards the Pyramids and firmly ignore anyone who tries to distract you. Continue along the tarmacked road, up to the temporary ticket office (an unofficial…
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Bab Zuweila
Built at the same time as the northern gates (10th century), beautiful Bab Zuweila is the only remaining southern gate of medieval Al-Qahira. Visitors may climb the ramparts, where some intriguing exhibits about the gate’s history are in place. The two minarets atop the gate, also open to visitors, offer one of the best available views of the area. In Mamluk times, the space in front of the gate was the site of executions, a popular form of street theatre, with some victims being sawn in half or crucified. The spirit of a healing saint was (and still is) said to reside behind one towering wooden door, which supplicants have studded with nails and teeth as offerings over t…
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Pyramid of Neferirkare
The Pyramid of Neferirkare (2475-2455 BC), the third pharaoh of the 5th dynasty and Sahure's brother, resembles the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. However, the present-day complex is only the core as the original outer casing has been stripped away, reducing the pyramid from its original planned height of 72m to today's 45m.
In the early 20th century in Neferirkare's funerary temple, archaeologists found the so-called Abu Sir Papyri, a highly important archive of Old Kingdom documents written in hieratic, a shorthand form of hieroglyphs. They relate to the cult of the pharaohs buried at the site, recording important details of ritual ceremonies, temple equipment, priests' work …
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Pyramid of Raneferef
On a diagonal, just west of Neferirkare's pyramid, are the remains of the unfinished Pyramid of Raneferef (also known as Neferefre), who reigned for seven years before Nyuserra. However, work was so little advanced at the time of his death that the tomb was only completed as a mastaba (mud-brick structure in the shape of a bench above tombs that was the basis for later pyramids).
In the adjoining mud-brick cult building, Czech archaeologists found fragments of statuary, including a superb limestone figurine of Raneferef protected by Horus (now in the Egyptian Museum) along with papyrus fragments relating to the Abu Sir temple archives.
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Pyramid of Teti
The avenue of sphinxes excavated by Mariette in the 1850s has again been hidden by desert sands, but it once extended to the much earlier Pyramid of Teti. Teti (2345-2323 BC) was the first pharaoh of the 6th dynasty, and his pyramid was built in step form and cased in limestone. Unfortunately, the pyramid was robbed for its treasure and its stone, and today only a modest mound remains.
However, the interior fared better, and is similar in appearance to that of the Pyramid of Unas. Within the intact burial chamber, Teti's basalt sarcophagus is well preserved, and represents the first example of a sarcophagus with inscriptions on it.
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Black Pyramid
Of the three Middle Kingdom pyramid complexes built by Amenemhat II (1922-1878 BC), Sesostris III (1874-1855 BC) and his son Amenemhat III (1855-1808 BC), only the oddly shaped Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III is worth a look. The towerlike structure appears to have completely collapsed due to the pilfering of its limestone outer casing in medieval times, but the mud-brick remains contain a maze of corridors and rooms designed to deceive tomb robbers.
Thieves did manage to penetrate the burial chambers, but left behind a number of precious funerary artefacts that were discovered in 1993.
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Mastaba of Al-Faraun
Known as the Pharaoh's Bench, this unusual funerary complex belongs to the last 4th-dynasty pharaoh, the short-lived Shepseskaf (2503-2498 BC). Shepseskaf was the son of Menkaure, builder of Giza's third great pyramid, though he failed to emulate the glory of his father. Occupying an enclosure once covering 700 sq metres, Shepseskaf's rectangular tomb was built of limestone blocks, and originally covered by a further layer of fine, white limestone and a lower layer of red granite.
Inside the tomb, a 21m-long corridor slopes down to storage rooms and a vaulted burial chamber.
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Bab al-Futuh
The square-towered Bab an-Nasr (Gate of Victory) and the rounded Bab al-Futuh were built in 1087 as the two main northern entrances to the walled Fatimid city of Al-Qahira. Walk along the outside and you'll see what an imposing bit of military architecture the whole thing is.
When current renovations are done (any year now), visitors should be able to get access to the top of the walls and inside the gates themselves, and see inscriptions left by Napoleon's troops as well as carved animals and Pharaonic figures on the stones scavenged from the ruins of ancient Memphis.
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Pyramid of Menkaure
At 62m (originally 66.5m), the Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the trio. A gash in the north face is the result of an attempt by Saladin's son Malek Abdel Aziz to dismantle the pyramid in AD 1186. He gave up after eight months, having achieved little. Outside the pyramid you'll see the excavated remains of Menkaure's funerary temple and, further east, the ruins of his valley temple, less excavated.
Visitors are no longer allowed inside the pyramid, and it's a long slog out here - you're excused if you skip it.
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Pyramid of Khafre
Southwest of the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre seems larger than that of his father, Khufu. At just 136m high, it’s not, but it stands on higher ground and its peak is still capped with a limestone casing. Originally all three pyramids were totally encased with polished white stone, which would have made them gleam in the sun. Over the centuries, this casing has been stripped for use in palaces and mosques, exposing the softer inner-core stones to the elements.
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Pyramid of Userkaf
Northeast of the funerary complex is the Pyramid of Userkaf, the first pharaoh of the 5th dynasty, which is closed to the public for safety reasons. Although the removal of its limestone casing has left little more than a mound of rubble, it once rose to a height of 49m. Furthermore, its funerary temple was once decorated with the most exquisite naturalistic relief carvings, judging from one of the few remaining fragments (now in the Egyptian Museum) showing birds by the river.
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