Today was a packed day full of tombs, pyramids and narrow alleys.  Our day started at Saqqara, a UNESCO world heritage site, roughly 30 minutes south of Giza.  Saqqara was used by the early and middle pharaonic dynasties as a necropolis and as such plays host to a number of tombs and pyramids.  The site was particularly active when Memphis served as the capital of Egypt; most Pharos and royal households had burials here.

Cannot be in a desert without camels! The Step Pyramid, first attempt at pyramids, built by Imhoetup under Djoser.

A shot showing construction methods for the step pyramid. Some of the original limestone facing was still intact. Most of it was gone, however, likely scavenged for other uses over the centuries.

The most famous of all sites at Saqqara is the step pyramid, built approximately in 2600BC by the architect Imhotep for the third dynasty Pharo Djoser.  The Step Pyramid is the first ever pyramid built and is called the Step Pyramid because it is built in layers, with each layer slightly smaller than the level below it, giving it the appearance of a staircase. It is 299 feet tall and over 350ft wide at its base on each side. The structure was constructed of small bricks, rather than the larger limestone blocks used for later pyramids because Imhotep was not sure how the structure would hold up.   We were able to enter the substructure and view some of the rooms but not all of the 6km of tunnels under the pyramid were open to the public. Hieroglyphics covered the walls, some with the original blue coloring still intact and Hossam spent some time explaining the meaning and pointing out the different scenes of daily life etched into the walls.  I was surprised by the sheer size of the shafts leading straight down (28m!) into the lower areas of the substructure. For some reason, when I read about the shafts that were built into pyramids, I had pictured very narrow openings, perhaps three or four feet square.  But the shafts in the Step Pyramid were 21 feet across- so basically huge!  Totally unexpected.

I got to open one of the tombs we visited, which was way cool. Many of the tombs had attendants to keep track of things and open the gates when people wanted to enter. (it was not super crowded in some places we went)

The pyramid was part of a larger mausoleum complex dedicated to Djoser that included two temples, an open plaza and several small buildings.  Part of one temple and the walkway that connected the two temples remained but the rest of the complex had either been destroyed by nature or the stones carted off for re-use in other buildings.

While the Step Pyramid was the largest structure at Saqqara, it was by no means the only pyramid nor the only tomb.  We visited several different tombs, some off the beaten trail of the larger tour groups.  It was fascinating to look at the different wall carvings and markings as Hossam explained the stories that were left behind.  Some had lost all pigment, but in other places the colors were still present lending depth to what we were looking at.  One pyramid, the pyramid of Unas, required a steep climb down a ramp then a bent over, crouched walk through a small tunnel to get to the tomb in the substructure. (I suspect there are more of this type of entrance awaiting us elsewhere!)

Hossam and I at Saqqara- an area of, no kidding, desolate desert, even though close to the outskirts of Cairo.

The Saqqara site was desolate, sand and rock in all directions, broken up by archeological digs exposing tombs and holes in the ground, securely locked against random tourists exploring where they should not. Luckily the day was not too hot and not too crowded so we had space and time to explore at our leisure, both in the various tombs and walking around the site.  Many of the pyramids were destroyed- some completely and some only partially, today resembling nothing more than a large pile of rocks.

One of the oddest tombs we visited was the Serapeum, the burial site of royal bulls (Apis bulls). More than 27 sarcophagi were located with royal bulls from Pharos across multiple dynasties.  The sarcophagi were huge, the sides taller than I am-they had to weigh multiple tons (about 40 I read somewhere) and it boggles the imagination to understand how those large stones were moved into place.  Interestingly, when French archeologists Augusta Mariette unearthed the Serapeum and examined the tombs, all but two were empty which means that at some point someone was able to remove the heavy lids (25 tons) to raid the tombs.  As a consolation prize, Mariette removed every stela that was embedded in the walls and moved them to the Louvre.  (The stela provided information on the dates of the bulls buried in the Serapeum.)

A tomb in the Serapeum. Scale hard to tell in this picture, but the tombs were huge, not surprising given they were hosting Isacred) bulls. Weird.

We spent the entire morning roaming around Saqqara, popping in and out of tombs and pyramids then went to have lunch at a nearby restaurant.  After lunch we drove south to the area where Memphis had been located, now a village and residential area, to the Mit Rahina Museum.  The open air museum is the only remaining collection of artifacts from Memphis including a very large statue of Ramses II, who spent resources in restoration of Saqqara during his reign (at which time Saqqara had been around for about 1200 years).  Besides the large statue, there was also a large sphinx (there are more sphinxes than the large one at Giza-which we will see tomorrow) and a collection of statues and stones marked with hieroglyphics.  Unfortunately there was not a lot of explanation about the artifacts so it was difficult to put any context into the collection but the Rameses statue was impressive.

After our brief visit to the museum we headed to old Cairo.  Saladin, when he conquered Egypt and built the Citadel, rebuilt and improved the old walls around the city that had been established by the Fatimid caliphate in the 10th century.  Some sections of the walls still exist today and we entered old Cario through a gate in one of the sections to stroll down the Main Street, Al-Muizz street.  Even though it was a holiday and some of the vendors were closed, there were a lot of families out strolling around, more so than tourists it seemed to me.  At one point we turned off Al-Muizz and entered the rabbit warren of small narrow alleys that make up the Khan el-Khalili, Cairo’s oldest market.  Even with many stores closed, there were a lot of people out and about and it was crowded— people darting here and there, colorful wares on display, music at cafes, vendors trying to get people to look at their items; total chaos- it was wonderful. We only traversed a small part of the area and I am hoping to explore more when we return to Cairo at the end of the trip.

Old Cario walls and one of the gates. The old city is still a thriving area with an extensive, rabbit-warren market and many mosques.

One of the streets in the old city. As it was a holiday there were a lot of locals out and about, easily outnumbering the tourists.

Hossam offered to take us to a more modern area of the city and dinner at a traditional Egyptian restaurant and we took him up on his offer.  The downtown area, a middle-class neighborhood, was lit up with festive lights and storefronts were open; here, too, families and locals were out enjoying their last holiday evening. The place we went to was called “Abu Tarik” and is hugely popular for its “koshari” which is a dish consisting of rice, noodles, chickpeas, black lentils, onion, and tomato sauce supplemented with garlic lemon sauce and chili sauce to your desired level for spicy.  The line was out the door and around the corner but moved fast and it was a great authentic experience eating local in Cairo.  The dish was good (but lots of carbs!).  Stuffed to the gills, we headed back to the hotel for some well-deserved rest!

The place to go in Cairo for kosheri. The restaurant was four floors and had one item on the menu and it was packed!!