Pyramids & Catacombs

Today was our pyramid day- we headed out to Saqqara and Dahshur.  Basically, the pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, Abu Roash, and Dahshur are all one pyramid field, though the places have different names.  Saqqara and Dahshur are fairly close to each other, making them an easy trip.   The drive takes about an hour from Cairo, and can be longer if there is traffic, which is why we left around 7:30am.  Neither site had many tourists about- we saw maybe a total of 30 other tourists the whole day.  This had the advantage of us being able to get good pictures and look at things in peace, but it also meant that all the guides, guards, and people selling stuff converged upon us.  We had to pay out a decent amount in bakshish (essentially, tips) to get in and out of things, which is standard in Egypt (even to use the bathrooms at public places).

Saqqara, our first stop, was used as a burial ground for millennia- from the 1^st Dynasty through the Greco-Roman period.  The first pyramid, a step pyramid, was built there by Djoser of the 3^rd Dynasty.  Seeing the Step Pyramid finally was really cool- I’ve read so much about it but never had the chance to go.  The area around the Step Pyramid has many Old Kingdom mastaba tombs, as well as later Old Kingdom pyramids which haven’t survived the ages as well as the pyramids at Giza. 

The first pyramid!

Looking at tombs nearby the Step Pyramid (this one is Dynasty 5, I think).

We also got to see the Serapeum at Saqqara, which was probably the thing we looked forward to most, as it has been closed for several years and only reopened last month.  The Serapeum dates to the Late Period and later, and was where the Apis Bull was entombed upon his death.  The Apis bull was part of the cult of the god Ptah, and the Egyptians in the later periods went to a lot of expense and effort to provide for him (along with many other animal deities).  The Serapeum is a set of long caverns with branches off of the sides which held the burials of the bulls.  These are huge black granite sarcophagi, which must have been immensely difficult to move into the catacombs.  The caverns themselves are amazing, carved out of the rock.

The main hallway of the Serapeum.

That sarcophagus is huge! 

After Saqqara we took a short drive over to Dahshur to see the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid, both of which were built by Sneferu of the 3^rd Dynasty.  We were only able to get into the Red Pyramid, as the Bent is closed.  Getting into the pyramid is quite a climb up the exterior, and then down a long shaft into the tomb.  It’s pretty exhausting on the legs- even runners like me and Janelle were dying!  Once you make your way down, you can see the beautiful corbel vaulted hall and then climb up to the burial chamber.  It’s well worth the energy spent climbing down (and back up).   After the Red Pyramid we drove over to the Bent Pyramid just to take a few pictures (and be a bit silly). 

Unfortunately, once we returned to the hotel this afternoon we found that the hot water heater was broken for the hotel.  A cold shower is not exactly what you want when you’ve gotten all dirty climbing around pyramids all day!