The Pyramid of Teti (2345–2323 BC), the first pharaoh of the 6th dynasty, was built in step form and cased in limestone, but today only a modest mound remains. In the interior you can see portions of the hieroglyphic spells of the Pyramid Texts up close, as well as a shower of stars. Within the intact burial chamber, Teti’s basalt sarcophagus is well preserved, and represents the first example of a sarcophagus with inscriptions.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
8.88 MILES
The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids…
11.91 MILES
One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan…
0.4 MILES
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…
11.78 MILES
This museum, on the edge of Islamic Cairo, holds one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art and is Egypt's (and one of the entire Middle East's)…
12.01 MILES
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…
12.04 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
9.02 MILES
This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…
0.6 MILES
The Mastaba of Ti was discovered by Auguste Mariette in 1865. This grand and detailed private tomb is not only Old Kingdom art at its best but also one of…
Nearby Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta attractions
0.06 MILES
Mereruka was the successor to Kagemni as Pharaoh Titi's chief justice and his tomb, like Kagemni's, is full of preserved reliefs of daily life. Some of…
0.07 MILES
The plump-looking chief justice under Teti, Kagemni appears in his own mastaba tomb as though he enjoyed the riches of the land, if the splendid and…
0.12 MILES
The tomb of Ankhmahor contains similar precise friezes to the Tomb of Kagemni, but is closed because of deteriorating conditions.
0.22 MILES
Northeast of the Step Pyramid is the Pyramid of Userkaf, the first pharaoh of the 5th dynasty (closed to the public for safety reasons). Although the…
0.4 MILES
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…
0.42 MILES
In the year 2650 BC, Pharaoh Zoser (2667–2648 BC) asked his chief architect, Imhotep (later deified), to build him a Step Pyramid. This is the world's…
7. Tomb of Akhethotep & Ptahhotep
0.51 MILES
This joint mastaba for Akhethotep and his son Ptahhotep has two burial chambers, two chapels and a pillared hall. The painted reliefs in Ptahhotep’s…
0.56 MILES
This quite sad-looking group of Greek statues, the remnant of a collection of philosophers and poets set up as a wayside shrine by Ptolemy I (323–283 BC)…