Stormy Travels: Exploring the Pyramids

Today begins the grand adventure in Egypt starting with exploring the pyramids. Our itinerary includes Memphis, Sakkara, and Giza, but first, it is breakfast! We woke up around 6am, got ready for the day, and then headed to the breakfast restaurant included in our stay. The hotel has an amazing buffet with so many options!

Lots of Mediterranean salads

Build your own salad

Fresh honey and jam

Local baked goods

Breakfast with a view

Walking back to our room

After eating, our driver Ahmed picked us up at 8am and we headed toward Memphis picking up Ramy along the way from his house. Ramy gave us some backstory about Memphis and ancient Egypt on our way and also got us fresh wheat Egyptian bread to try which was delicious. It was steaming hot and came from a local hole-in-the-wall place he knew along the way. Memphis was the first capital city founded after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Once we arrived at the open-air Mit Rahina Museum which stands on the grounds of historic Memphis today, Ramy took us to the statue of the triad of Memphis consisting of the creator god Ptah (middle), his consort Sekhmet (left), and their son Nefertem (Ramesses II was acting as Nefertem on the right). Then we moved to see the sphinx of Memphis and Ramy explained since there are no inscriptions, it's not entirely sure who is being honored but it's possibly Hatshepsut, one of the first female pharaohs. The statue weighs ~80 tons. We then moved to see a large standing statue of Pharaoh Ramses II. Ramses II has many many statues always in the same pose with the left leg forward to show what a great warrior he was and his seal (stamp) in his hand to show what a great ruler he was all these years later. We then walked back towards the entrance to stop by the museum which has the most impressive Ramses II statue lying on the ground that is over 30 feet tall. This huge statue shows that the city of Memphis remained important even 1500 years after the Giza Pyramids were completed. It was found by a British Army officer lying upside down in a muddy river bank and must have been quite the excavation to get out. There are also many artifacts and column remnants in the area. It was truly spectacular. Ramy provided so much information it was overwhelming but we were in awe and taking it all in.

Crazy driving in Cairo

The trash situation is sadly not great

This canal is being dredged to be redone

Fresh bread

We did not go hungry

Triad of Memphis

Sphinx of Memphis

Ramy got lots of photos of us which is such a treat!

I am amazed at how well these items are preserved being exposed to elements!

Impressive etchings

Ramses II

Column base

Us in front of the giant (but smaller of the two) Ramses II statues

Massive stela dedicating lands, serfs, and produce to Ptah of Memphis

The backside of the Triad of Memphis

Ramses II largest statue of him found in this exact location

Offering table

You can see the white and red crowns depicted

Servant between his legs

Column crowns

View of Ramses II from above

Once we were done enjoying the amazing open-air museum in Memphis, we headed to the next stop of Sakkara. To start, we took a seat looking towards the Sakkara necropolis enclosure wall while Ramy went into explanations about the area. Sakkara's (or Saqqara, but Ramy spelled it Sakkara to me) name comes from the burial god Sokar. The enclosure wall we were looking at surrounds the Djoser's step pyramid complex. The complex is accessed via the colonnade entrance which has 21 columns on each side in the shape of bundles of papyrus or palm branches. Once through the columns, we can see the step pyramid, the first pyramid built. As you get closer, you can also see the extension that was built onto it! We then took a walk towards the back of the step pyramid stopping at the Heb-Sed court which Ramy had a beautiful diagram from the other day drawn out that was still present to explain everything about this area. I wish I could explain it as well as Ramy did but it is the story of how the different types of pyramids came were constructed at various times (from tombs, to the step pyramid, to the way the great pyramid is built with a smooth finish today). It also shows the crowns of upper and lower Egypt and then when they combined. Ramy also told us the story about why there are B-shaped structures in the pyramid court here. The king ran a race alongside the Apis Bull to reinforce his dominion over the whole kingdom, and prove that he was still physically able to rule the country. It was quite the story! After this, we then went into the house of the South behind the step pyramid which has hieratic texts praising the beauty of the monument and the only occurrences of the name Djoser. As we walked back to the front of the step pyramid, we came across a serdab (tomb structure) with the pharaoh Djoser's Ka Statue. It has holes in it to let the soul move about freely.

Snack!

We stopped again on the way out of Memphis and got more bread, this time with delicious fillings

Lots of pups laying in the sun

The step pyramid!

Storytime with Ramy! We really loved learning about the history of every place and Ramy is excellent at keeping it engaging and interesting.

Ramy is quite the photographer

The enclosure wall

Colonnade Entrance

Columns

Step pyramid

Entrance and step pyramid panoramic

Our guide Ramy

These pictures were shockingly hard to take!

Hunter got a good pic

Heb Sed court

Picture in sand Ramy drew about the pyramids and crowns

The line where the addition was added is very visible

South entrance

The only words talking about Djoser's complex bringing a name to this location

Replica of seated ka-statue of King Djoser (the real one is in the Egyptian museum)

The holes for the soul of the Pharoh to move freely

the B structures for the heb seb festival

Once we were done in this area, we proceeded toward the Token Palace. We climbed up beside the cobras which are a symbol of protection for the pharaohs. On top, Ramy pointed out the various pyramids you can see looking north and south. It was a great clear day without haze and you could see far. We then moved down to a giant excavated burial shaft where they found various sarcophagi, wooden coffins, and other artifacts. It's pretty impressive how things like this are still being discovered. Ramy was telling us that only 10% has been discovered, there's still so much to find and learn about throughout Egypt.

Cobras at the top which protect the king and project his power.

The Red Pyramid (right) and the Bent Pyramid (behind and left of Red)

Pyramid of Sahure (right) and Neferirkare (left) with the Great Pyramids further back on the very left

The Great Pyramid and Pyramid of Khafre

Burial shaft

Next Ramy took us to the Pyramid of Unas which was built in the 5th Dynasty and is very important. It contained the first example of funerary texts known as the pyramid texts. These texts were inscribed on the walls of the burial chamber and assisted the deceased pharaoh in his journey to the afterlife through instructive spells. When the tomb guardian turned off the lights inside the tomb, he shined his flashlight along the wall and showed the 3D carvings of the tomb that can only be seen this way. I was thoroughly amazed by this and I think you'll see just how excited I was below! I wish we could have spent forever inside this tomb. Once we were done in the Unas tomb, we continued around the complex a little bit more before heading to Giza to see the Great Pyramid.

This picture does an excellent job of showing how amazed I am by this experience. It is everything I could have ever dreamed of! Getting to see this in person is so crazy.

Inscriptions with stars on the roof

The paint is still clearly visible with blue being the most intact

The sarcophagi, made out of black basalt

Totally in awe of this tomb and how well-kept it is

Lots of bending over to crawl through the tight passages but it was worth it

Phenomenal carvings in the tomb that were just unbelievable to be experiencing!

We meant to take a picture but got a 3s video instead haha

Remains of the outer casing on Unas's Pyramid with the cartouche of Unas's name

Cartouche of Unas's name

Heading back to the enclosure wall

Another picture before departing

After the incredible Sakkara expedition, we departed to visit the Giza complex which has the most famous pyramid, the last of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence, the Great Pyramid of Giza. Once we arrived, we stepped outside to the checkpoint where we had to pass through security and this time I brought my backpack which contained binoculars and that is apparently a big no-no as it's still considered a military complex. They wanted us to leave them there and get them on our way out, however, Ramy talked to the lady and was able to convince them to let me keep them but not use them as we were planning on exiting from a different location. I was so grateful Ramy was with us to communicate and help make sure everyone was on the same page. It's so great getting to go around with someone who takes care of all the details and knows the ins and outs of these locations.

Leaving Sakkara

An eagle!

Tourist police wore suits and often had semi hidden guns

Arriving at Giza

Once we passed the checkpoint to the Giza area, we started walking towards the Great Pyramid of Giza while Ramy explained various things to us about these pyramids. First, you can clearly see the pyramid doesn't have its white limestone outer casing. This is because the Egyptian people removed it to construct things in the city. In the pictures below the Pyramid immediately behind us is the Great Pyramid and the one behind that is the Pyramid of Khafre. Khafre still has some outer casing around the top as well as the only complete capstone, known as a pyramidion, existing today. After taking in the front side, we went on a walk around the pyramids to see the boat pits and the queen's pyramids. The boat pits just south of the Great Pyramid actually contained a ship that was carefully excavated, however, it was moved to the new museum that isn't yet open, so of course, we will have to come back to see that in a few years! After walking behind the Great Pyramid, we continued over to the Pyramid of Khafre. From here we went to the overlook to see all the pyramids at once. It may seem that the Pyramid of Khafre is the tallest, however, the Great Pyramid is 481ft tall, Khafre is 448ft, and Menkaure is 281ft tall. After taking some awesome and fun pics at the lookout, we headed to the sphinx!

Touching the top of the Pyramid of Khafre

You can enter the Great Pyramid, but it's quite the hike Ramy told us and there's nothing exciting inside anymore

Explanation of the various parts inside the Great Pyramid

We climbed up the entrance to the Great Pyramid for some lovely pics!

Looking out from on the Great Pyramid

At the entrance for the Great Pyramid

It's great!

Walking around the pyramid, this is a boat pit where they uncovered intact ships

Horses that we did not ride

The queen's pyramids

The stones used for making the pyramids are massive!

The boat pit they found a ship in

Looking towards Sakkara. I believe the far-right pyramid is the step pyramid of Djoser.

The backside of the Great Pyramid

Camel by the Great Pyramid

Beside the Great Pyramid with Khafre in the back

The Pyramid of Khafre with some outer casing and the capstone

Looking back at the Great Pyramid with Ramy

The Giza pyramids: the Great Pyramid (left), the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure (right)

Here you can see the three pyramids and it looks like Khafre is the tallest, but its just the ground that is higher where that pyramid was built.

The Great Sphinx of Giza represents Pharaoh Khafre. It is 244ft long and 66ft tall. Ramy told us the story of pharaoh Thutmose IV who worked on the restoration of the Sphinx. While he was out on a hunting trip, he took a rest under the Sphinx, which was buried up to the neck in sand. While he slept, he had a dream where the Sphinx told him that if he cleared away the sand from his nose he would become the next pharaoh. After he did this, he finished restoring the Sphinx and places a tablet with the story to help him become king. It's crazy that while we consider all of ancient Egypt history, there's parts of it that were thousands of years old for people that we still consider ancient today. The amount of time involved is truly amazing. Unfortunately, the sphinx isn't easily accessible and we could only take a picture from the side of the road, but we still got some good ones! After thoroughly exploring the Giza area, we headed to get some food!

Around 2:30pm, once we were done exploring, Ramy took us for food at a very local location to try a delicious dish called kushari. Kushari is Egypt's national dish and for Ramy and Ahmed, it's their go-to comfort food. It contains pasta, rice, and brown lentils, and is topped with tomato sauce, chickpeas, and crispy fried onions. We were a little unsure at first, but we dug in and wow it was tasty! I could totally see how this would be a comfort food! We also tried an Arabic crepe sandwich with chicken that was to die for! For dessert, we had a local rice pudding which was also just as delicious. I told Ramy we were foodie people, and he really took that to heart for this meal, giving us a great introduction to the local food scene.

We ended our day a bit earlier and returned to the hotel. We decided to go for a nice swim because it was so hot all day, over 80F when it was only forecasted to be in the low 70F. We swam for a while, then left around 5pm to see what the lounge was offering for evening service. When we arrived at the lounge, we were a bit early, and they were still setting up the food station. We took a seat on the couch and waited until the staff invited us to eat. As we walked up, we were amazed by the many options of food being presented. They had fruit, meat and cheese, smoked salmon, chicken, and so many delicious-looking desserts. We dug in and the staff told us all the names and even recommended we try the local desserts on the table instead of the more American ones. After our fill of food, Hunter and I went for a walk around the property before returning to our room for the night. After showering and getting comfy in bed, all of a sudden we heard loud bangs. We check outside our balcony window and their lights and fireworks happen over the pyramids! How incredible to end our day of exploring the pyramids and other tombs around Cairo.