Stacey’s Mini-Extravaganza to the Middle East

The Red Pyramid

A few kilometers outside of Cairo (and seemingly a whole world away) lie the pyramids of Dahshur and Saqqara.  Cairo is utter mayhem while the villages near these monuments are serene and agricultural.  It is hard to believe that the craziness that is Cairo lies only a few kilometers to the north.

After spending the morning at Giza, I finagled my driver into taking me to Dahshur despite the fact that wasn’t on our original itinerary.  Dahshur is home to two major pyramids: the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid as well as several lesser pyramids.  I had previously heard that if you want to go inside a pyramid that the Red Pyramid of Dahshur was the place to do it as it was less claustrophobic than at Cheops, there are fewer people and the entry is included in the 30 Egyptian pound fee.  I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go inside one of these monuments so I climbed the steep stairs to the entry about halfway up the side of the pyramid and in I went.

As I was descending through the passage and into the pyramid, a large tour group of senior citizens was huffing and puffing their way out on ascent through the passage.  The passage was clearly not built with two-way traffic in mind so I had to stop frequently to let them pass and with each breathless person I encountered I was wondering what I was getting myself into.  The passage was narrow to be sure and the “stairs” were just boards nailed horizontally onto a long platform.  It was dark but there were some low lights on each side and I had to crouch down and sort of slide my way down the slope.  Amazingly, when I got there there was no one else so I had the entire burial chamber to myself.  Which, I must say, was a rather eerie experience.

View from bottom of pyramid shaft (how it actually looked)

And with a flash so you can see it a little better

These pictures are not great and I’m battling a bit with the flash on my camera to get it the correct intensity but hopefully these shots kind of give you an idea of what it was like inside.  There were basically only two rooms…the first with an added wooden floor and a very high, pointed ceiling.  You then went up some stairs and found yourself in the burial chamber looking down at…not much.  As you can see below, it’s largely a bunch of rocks strewn about and my guidebook says the burial chamber was never actually used.  The ascent out of the pyramid didn’t feel too challenging at the time though I am majorly feeling it today.  I’m not sure my quads have ever been so sore and going up and down stairs is currently not one of my favorite activities.

Steep angled ceiling of first chamber

Burial chamber

Burial chamber

Also near the Red Pyramid and viewable from a distance is the Bent Pyramid which is clearly given its name from the strange angles found in its shape.  No one seems to know why this pyramid was constructed in this manner though several theories abound.  Some think the angle was changed so as to complete it sooner, some thought it indicated a double pyramid (two pyramids superimposed) and still others think the architect lost his nerve.  Apparently another pyramid collapsed that was being built with the same angles as the bottom portion of the Bent Pyramid.  Regardless, it was too far afield to walk to so I have only these photos from afar.  Wondering about the haze?  Nope, it’s not my camera…just the notorious Cairo pollution which is horrible to say the least.

Bent Pyramid

After Dahshur, we were off to Saqqara which is a much larger complex of pyramids and most notably there lies the first pyramid ever constructed and considered to be the prototype for Giza and all others that came later.  This pyramid is called the Step Pyramid for its shape and is currently undergoing restoration which is why there is so much scaffolding about.  Prior to the age of pyramids, important people were buried in mastabas which were burial tombs with deep shafts for the sarcophagus (stone coffins essentially).  The construction of the Step Pyramid marked the beginning of the age of imposing elevated mausoleums.

Step Pyramid of Saqqara

Close up of bricks used to construct Step Pyramid

At this point in the day, I was on the edge of melting so I quickly took some pictures of the various points of interest and got myself back to Cairo.  The columns are from Hypostyle Hall which was the only entrance into the Step Pyramid back in the day.  The whole complex is the funerary of the king Zoser (2667-2648 BC) and was built by chief architect Imhotep who is widely considered to be the world’s first architect.  One of the local guides showed me around some of the tombs and let me take some pictures of the walls which you can see below.  Also shown are the walls of tombs covered in hieroglyphics and other pictorial scenes.

Hypostyle Hall

Columns within the Hall

After a day of pyramid-hopping in 109 degree heat I headed back to the hotel for a much needed shower and nap.  Next up on the Mini-Extravaganza…my trip to the Egyptian Museum as well as my subway trip to see Old Cairo (or Christian/Coptic Cairo as it’s sometimes referred to).  Tomorrow I’m headed to the famous Khan El-Khalili market and to wander the streets of Islamic Cairo.  Type to you soon!

Tags: Dahshur, Egypt, funerary, pyramid, Saqqara

This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Egypt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.