The Cube

Egypt: Dahshur, Memphis and Saqqara

March 25, 2026

False door

The first pyramid was the Step Pyramid. Djoser's pyramid, at 60 m in height, although substantially smaller than its immediate successors was still an impressive monument. Snefru's first pyramid was the Meidum Pyramid which was originally built as a stepped pyramid. More stones were added to its sides and converted it into a straight-sided pyramid.

Snefru's second pyramid was the Bent Pyramid. It was originally called the Southern Shining Pyramid. The angle of its sides was reduced during construction, perhaps due to concerns that it might collapse.

Snefru's third pyramid have shallow slopes, like the Bent Pyramid. The Red Pyramid was made of sandstone and originally encased in whte Tura limestone. It is the largest pyramid of the Dahshur necropolis.

The Step Pyramid

→ The Meidum Pyramid

→ The Bent Pyramid

→ The Red Pyramid

→ The Great Pyramid

→ The Khaefre Pyramid

We took the easiest way to get there by booking a trip from the hotel reception, at USD 60 per person including lunch but excluding entrance and car fees. The 'tour' came with a driver and a guide but the guide didn't say much. We started with the Red Pyramid in Dahshur.

Imhotep, not the character in The Mummy is seen as the first engineer, architect and physician in history as well as being a high priest and official of King Djoser. He was credited as being the architect of the Step Pyramid.

Dahshur

Dahshur is a royal necropolis located about 40 km south of Cairo, renowned for hosting Old Kingdom pyramids built by Sneferu. It features the Bent Pyramid (transitioning from steep to shallow angle) and the Red Pyramid (the first successful smooth-sided pyramid), which provided the engineering knowledge for the Giza pyramids.

Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid's name derives from the material that was used to construct the pyramid, red limestone. The entrance ticket to Dahshur included both the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. This same ticket allowed one to enter the pyramids. At the time of visit, we paid EGP 425 for the 2 of us and car.

It was sandy and looked blurry from afar

It started with climbing up to the wooden platform to the entrance. From there, it was a descent. It was a little low towards the end.

Followed by a short tunnel before reaching to a chamber with good ceiling height and fairly spacious. I thought we still a long way to go and took off my hoodie at this point.

Then there were some wooden staircases to go uphill. After that, it was the end to the tomb. There were no sarcophagus at the tomb, just a pile of rubble stones.

Bent Pyramid

The Bent Pyramid has a 54-degree slope of its sides and changes halfway up to an angle of 43 degrees. We entered this pyramid too, well, it was included in the general entrance ticket. This one, by far, has the longest descending tunnel at 79 metres. The internal beams inside the Bent Pyramid was said to be cedar trunks imported from Lebanon.

Similar to the Red Pyramid, it started with climbing up to the entrance via some wooden staircases.

It also started with a long descent, followed by a series of wooden staircases inside the pyramid.

The end of the walk was also an empty tomb with some bats hanging on the walls.

What goes down must come up, going in and out is through the same way. At certain point, we did have to stop to let people coming in to pass but it was much less crowded comparatively. I think the long descent might have dissuaded some people to go all the way.

The shorter steps before the long ascend on the way out

Memphis

Memphis is located in the center of the floodplain of the western side of the Nile. Its fame comes from its being the first Capital of Ancient Egypt, the first one that was founded after the unification of upper and lower Egypt. The city was founded by King Narmar in the first dynasty (3100 BC) and located 20 km to the south of Cairo. The name of Memphis is driven from the ancient Egyptian name given to the city, it was called Min-Nefer, and the Greeks called it Memphis, today is the location of a local village called Mit Rahina.

Entrance fee: EGP 200 per person

There is an open air museum now at Memphis which houses the Alabaster Sphinx and one of Ramesses' two colossi.

Saqqara

Saqqara lies on the desert plateau about 3 km west of Memphis. This vast cemetery, which spans a period from the 27th century BC to the 10th century BC, is possibly named after the god of the burial sites, Sokar.

Entrance to the Djoser funerary complex

Step Pyramid of Djoser

Dominating the whole area is the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the earliest of all the pyramids and the first great monument in the world to be built of hewn stone. The entire complex was the conception of Imhotep. General ticket for Saqqara and car cost EGP 1225 for the 2 of us. Entering the Step Pyramid needs a separate ticket and we skipped this.

There is a small stone annexe at the rear of the Step Pyramid, known as the serdab, contains a non original statue of the king looking out at the world through two eye holes cut in the wall.

There are two 6th-Dynasty mastabas, tombs of Mereruka and Kagemni, viziers of King Teti (2345-2333 BC) next to the Pyramid of Teti, at the northeast of the Djoser Complex. These tombs contain a very oustanding tomb reliefs of the Old Kingdom. The wall were carved with lively scenes of domestic life, interests and pursuits of the Old Kingdom nobility like hunting, horticulture, husbandry, music, dancing, etc.