Day 37 – Pyramid Adventures

Written by

We woke up refreshed and ready for the best breakfast yet. If we ate like that every morning we would be in trouble. Wowza. We then met our Egyptologist tour guide for site visits at:

· Saqqara Step Pyramid

The earliest large-scale cut stone construction was built during the 27th century B.C. It has 6 unequal stages built above one another with a height of 62.5 m during the reign of King Djoser. At this site we were able to also see the original Egyptian story descriptions upon the various tomb walls. Fascinating stuff. Notice the starfish engraved all over the tomb ceilings.

· Memphis City

It was the first capital of ancient Egypt and it contains the biggest Alabaster Sphinx which belongs to King Ramses II. This bewitching site was believed to be under the protection of the god Ptah, the patron of craftsmen. We’ll see much more of these types of statues and ruins in the days ahead.

· Pyramids of Dahshur:

Dahshur is one of Memphis’s most important cemeteries and is one of many vast necropoleis located in the great Ancient Egypt Capital. This area was all along the Nile River so there was green and lush oasis with rice and dates and watermelons surrounded by nothing but hot sand and rock. The Dahshour area contains pyramids of the IV and the XII Dynasties. Here we saw the Pyramid of Amenemhat II, and the Pyramid ofAmenemhat III. Not only did we see the outside we were able to go explore deep within both of these pyramids. We walked bent over to access the chambers and then climbed wooden stairs that have been built up to show just how magnificent this architecture is. We’ll all be good and sore from this exploring today.

We then had a great late lunch of kebab before jumping on the ATV’s back at the Giza Pyramids. The kids loved this as we flew over sand dunes while waving our arms in joy over the beauty and history surrounding us. Amazing.

But we were not done yet. A fast trip across the city to catch our evening flight to Aswan was needed. I am writing this at 40,000 feet as we approach Aswan for check-in and overnight and more adventures tomorrow.

Norah keeps saying she feels so worldly as we explore and witness so much. Yes indeed, we are citizens of the world as we venture into these ancient histories and civilizations.