This morning we will drive 12 miles from Giza to Memphis, which was the capital of ancient Egypt. Here we'll visit the Memphis Colossus of Ramses, an enormous statue of the king about 34 feet long carved in limestone; and the Alabaster Sphinx, the second largest sphinx in Egypt. Carved between 1700 and 1400 BC, the Sphinx is 26 feet long and 13 feet tall and weighs around 90 tons.
Then on to Sakkara, one of the most extensive archaeological sites in Egypt, and the cemetery for the capital city of Memphis. Here we'll visit:
• Step Pyramid, the oldest known of Egypt's 97 pyramids. It was built for King Djoser (2667-2648 BC) by the architect genius Imhotep, and consists of six terraces some 200 feet high.
• Mastaba tomb of Ka-Gmni, who was a judge and a priest. The reliefs found in this tomb are amazingly rich in detail.
• Enter King Teti's Pyramid, which was originally 172 feet high. Climb down a shaft into the burial chamber, which is richly carved with thousands of hieroglyphs.
We'll stop for lunch at an authentic Egyptian restaurant.
Shopping opportunity: Egyptian Carpet school.
We will spend the afternoon visiting Dahshur, a royal necropolis 25 miles south of Cairo. We will visit two of the oldest, largest and best preserved pyramids in Egypt.
The Bent Pyramid (built 2613 – 2589 BC), was the first attempt at building a smooth sided pyramid, but was unsuccessful. The second pyramid built in Dahshur, the Red Pyramid, rises to a height of 341 feet and perfected smooth sides. The building of these two pyramids was an important learning experience for the Egyptians, and led to the know-how to build the Great Pyramid of Giza.