Red Pyramid, Saqqara and more! Tues 10/7

We were happy to see Merna this morning -- she'd be our guide again today as we ventured toward more pyramids (et cetera!) in the desert 20-25 miles south of Cairo on the Nile's West Bank.  Not a lengthy distance, but the drive seemed long.  This would be a full half-day of sightseeing all-things-Egypt, just as you might imagine. I'll show a sampling.  We were grateful the temp would be in the 90's (still hot!) rather than the blistering 100+ temps of the past few days.

We started at the Red Pyramid (tho it doesn't look red), and we're fixin' to climb up into it and then down into it!  We're the only people here, so we won't be crowded on the descent/ascent.  At this point, above, I'm hoping I can do it.  This pyramid was built between 2575 and 2563 BCE. It's the third pyramid constructed by Pharaoh Sneferu.  The name 'Red Pyramid' refers to the exposed sandstone of the massive structure, which originally would have been covered by a smooth white facing stone (which was quarried away in early medieval times).

At the opening.  Ready, set, go.

We descended backward, bent over, down-down-down on a sort of sloped wooden ladder with a light far below at the end.  I almost chickened out, but I persevered.  I shot the video at the bottom of the tomb, and there's nothing to see.  The climb up had us huffing and puffing and I was VERY happy to see the sun again! 

Bent Pyramid!

Okay -- this ancient necropolis of Dahshur is renowned for two of the oldest and best-preserved pyramids in Egypt, both built by pharaoh Sneferu of the 4th Dynasty, 2600BCE.  Rather than dish out a lot of blah-blah-blah, just think of the Bent Pyramid as the prototype for all the rest.  It was not designed well, as you can see.  Sneferu learned from his mistakes and his next try was the Red Pyramid and that set the tone for the others.  Google has a wealth of info if you're interested.

The ancient site of Saqqara and environs are chock-a-block full of mastabas (flat, rectangular tombs) and pyramids that emerge from the glaring desert like spires pointing to heaven. It's also a river-fed agricultural area, growing dates (30 thousand palm trees), alfalfa and corn.  Donkeys, horse carts and camels are still usual modes of transportation, as you see above.

After touring the pyramid area, we went to the small open air Mit Rahina Museum in Memphis to see the colossal statue of Ramses II.  Not the one above, the one below.

Look at the size of this statue!  The Colossus of Rames II -- carved in red limestone and measuring 34ft long, even though it has no feet, has wonderfully executed details.  Who stole his feet?

Jimmy is dwarfed by Ramses II.

At right, Jimmy holds his hand like the statue.

Next up is the Step Pyramid (at right).  All these remarkable ancient sites are relatively close together.  Above we're standing on the entrance gate walkway before the enclosure wall of the step pyramid complex situated near its southeast edge.  Despite there being over a dozen false doors placed along the enclosure wall, there was only one single entrance for visitors and it's the same entrance we used today.

Camels and horses, yup.

Jimmy and Merna at the Step Pyramid.

We found these wonderful, colorful reliefs at the Mastaba of Princess Idut (I think).  Entire walls filled with scenes like these!  Wish I could tell you more, but we saw soooooo much in one morning!

Step Pyramid and a ruined satellite pyramid.

Then we moved on -- and wrap your head around this -- to the Serapeum of Saqqara, the "ancient Egyptian burial place for sacred bulls of the Apis cult at Memphis.  The Apis bull was worshiped primarily in Memphis, with its cult dating back to at least the First Dynasty 2925- 2775 BCE."  Descending into these arched catacombs felt like entering a dungeon.  Inside, huge chambers had been cut out to house the "burial boxes" for the bulls, and there were many!

These "boxes" weigh around 40 tons and have 25-ton lids! How was this even possible, making them and moving them? Ancient Egyptians must have been superhuman, judging from all that we've seen in the past week!

Whew, what a morning!  Back on the road with Merna and our driver, we headed toward Cairo.  The above sight isn't something you see any-ol-day in North America!

Think the Chevy is overloaded?

Ah, the official hanging wash photo.

A late lunch at this place featured an outdoor buffet with undercover seating, and after the MANY steps we put in this morning, we were all hungry.  Pretty good food, too.  We didn't get back to our hotel till late afternoon, where I downloaded pics and Jimmy read (uh-huh, eyes closed, mouth open) reclined on the bed.  I believe I joined him ....

  

Up, up, and away! Mon, Oct 6th

Jimmy and I were disappointed when we couldn't fly over Cappadocia due to weather, so when Bassem (our guide) said we could take off over the Valley of the Kings at sunrise, we hooted and said, OKAY, sign us up!  An added bonus was the cost was half what it would've been in Turkey.  Hearing that alarm at 3:30am was rude, though, but we got up.  Our breakfast boxes awaited us, which was nice.

A small motorboat took us across the Nile in the dark to the West Bank, and then a van took a group of us to the balloon grounds ... where we waited, a whole lot of people, waited and waited to get the go-ahead from the weather guys.  What followed was magical.

Up we go, quietly, silently.  Sun's up, too.

Valley of the Kings below us.

Sorry about the smog.

We positively loved it.

(Click on the video, and click on YouTube to make it larger)

Beautiful.

Look how big the baskets are!

When it's over, it's over.  We plopped down in someone's field.  Balloons landed all around us, but no others in this field.  The hard part was climbing out of the durn basket (it wasn't graceful).  The ground crew was right there and took over, deflating and wrapping the balloon into a big ball and picking up the heavy basket, both of which they thumped into a truck, and away they went!

The van deposited us at the Valley of the Queens and Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, above, where we met Bassem (meanwhile we finished our breakfast boxes). The sun was already beginning to cook the land.  This temple has three terraces, but only two were open to tourists.  Too bad most of the carvings were destroyed by Ramses II.

FYI:  Luxor (used to be the ancient city of Thebes) is known as the world’s greatest open-air museum. On the west bank of the Nile, the Valley of the Kings attracts millions of visitors who wish to see the tombs of famous pharaohs, including Tutankhamun and Ramses II. Not far away is the quieter Valley of the Queens. They're approx 10 to 15 minutes apart. The Valley of the Kings is known for its royal tombs, while the Valley of the Queens is the burial site for queens and their children, offering a more personal look at royal life.

Relief of the cow goddess, Hathor, in mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

Jimmy told me stand like Ramses II, so here I am!

We drove to the Valley of the Kings next.  As you know, this area garnered lots of attention following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the rest of the Theban Necropolis.

Because everybody wants to view KV62 (aka King Tut's tomb) there's now a separate charge for entry, which we paid.  Tour guides are no longer allowed to lecture inside the tombs, so Bassem waited outside.  We began our descent to his chamber, along with everybody else.

Mass tourism and the effects humans have on archaeological sites is becoming problematic.  Just sayin'.

 

Here he is!  King Tut (still dead and still a mummy).  I had to fight my way to this point in order the get these two pics, above and below.  There's nothing else to see.

We began our trek to the top.

Ra traveling through the underworld in his barque.

Jimmy and I were sort of short on time, but there was enough to tour three tombs and then we departed.  We'd already packed our bags and left them at reception on the Chateau Lafayette -- bye-bye riverboat.  We had a 3:25pm flight from Luxor to Cairo and we were supposed to be at the airport three hours early!  All arranged.  We left Bassem at the airport and thanked him for his services; he did a good job for us.

The flight's only a bit over an hour, easy-peasy, but it took us a lot longer than that to get from Cairo's airport to the Hilton Ramses II hotel!  Cairo traffic is horrible, and Cairo drivers are nuts.  Anyway, we were slap-tuckered-out by the time we settled in our room.  A simple sandwich sufficed for dinner.  We crashed.  We had an 8:30am meet-up with Merna to tour near Cairo tomorrow.

To Luxor! Sunday, 10/5/25

Big day today as the riverboat (Chateau Lafayette, doncha know) plows north to Luxor.  On the way, we'd travel through the Esna lock.  In between, the open upper deck is a great place to see Egypt from the Nile.

Geez, you come back from breakfast and someone's stuck an elephant in the room!  Those goofy stewards at it again.  They keep our cabin nice and tidy even if they do add critters to Jimmy's bed.

Below:  Scenes along the Nile.

Hallo - Hallo - Hallo!  These small boats followed the large riverboats near cities or towns, hooking on via a rope.  One guy rowed and the other guy hawked "Egyptian" blankets and towels, which he'd throw up to whoever bought one.  I watched them throw!  But I never figured out how the money got down to them.

Okay, now I know (one reason) why the air in Egypt is "unhealthy," so sayeth Accuweather, and the horizon has been a dingy brown color and my eyes burn.  I thought the above was a coal-fired power plant, but, nope, it's a sugarcane mill belching out nasty smoke.

Our boat prepares to enter the lock ahead.  The boat to our left is entering its own lock.  The lock system was constructed to control the flow of Nile water, to preserve and store water for agriculture, and to improve river navigation.  Kinda fun to watch the goings-on.

 

This fine Little Egret was waiting for us on the other side of the lock.

In Luxor, our riverboat docked on the East Bank of the Nile River, in front of the historic Winter Palace Hotel, on Kornish Al Nile -- a busy, noisy main street running along the river.  After lunch we made ready (with Bassem) to drive to massive Karnak Temple Complex.  Who knew Egypt had so many temples and tombs, relics and reliefs, statues and columns to see!  They are truly amazing places, but they're beginning to blend together in my brain.

Jimmy and Bassem approaching Karnak Temple.

A staggering amount of Sphinxes line the entry to this temple.

I mean, how can one relate to such jaw-dropping magnitude? Karnak has 134 gigantic stone columns in its main Hypostyle Hall. They're arranged in 16 rows and are decorated with intricate carvings. The largest 12 columns in the central nave are over 70 feet tall.  Each one is drop-dead gorgeous.

A small offering of the beautiful carvings.

Ramses II was fully present at Karnak.

A carved owl representing the letter "m" at Karnak.  People touching the owl have left a residue, as you can see.  AI tells me:  The owl was also a significant symbol in ancient Egypt, sometimes meaning wisdom or protection, but also sometimes associated with death and the underworld due to its nocturnal nature.

 

Left:  I'm standing before a large stone sculpture of a scarab beetle on a half column by the Sacred Lake. It was erected during the reign of Amenhotep III (1391–1353 BCE) and, if you can imagine, it's carved from a single block of granite.

Right:  Since our Pyramid Sound and Light show in Cairo was canceled, Bassem signed us up to attend the show here at Karnak beginning at dusk.  It would start at the entrance, take us through the temple and finish up with us seated across the Sacred Lake, above.  The durn lake is the largest of its kind, dug in 1473-1458 BCE!  Well, if you've ever been to a Disney sound 'n light shindig, you're spoiled for life.

Appears as though Ramses II has a fern growing out of his head!  (actually the top of a palm tree).  Notice his daughter, Bentanat, standing on his feet.  

Imitation!

It is a given.  Always.  When exiting a famous site, you must pass through the pick-me, buy-me area.  Bassem (in front) said look straight ahead, don't say anything, and you won't be accosted.  

Now we're in front of Luxor Temple, which is five minutes away from Karnak.

Wow, look at us on the Avenue of Sphinxes, a 1.7 mi processional way that connects the Karnak Temple Complex with Luxor Temple. It's lined with hundreds of ram-headed and sphinx statues, and -- luckily for us -- was restored and reopened to the public in Nov 2021 after being buried for centuries.  

Here's a sampling of the Sphinxes.

This boat is called a solar barque, which traveled along the avenue connecting the two temples. These were ceremonial, sacred boats that carried the statues of deities, primarily Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. While the processions primarily happened on foot along the avenue, the sacred boats were also used in processions on the Nile.  How would you like to ride in that?

 

We felt privileged to walk on the Avenue of the Sphinxes; we didn't go far as it was getting too dark to see well and we didn't want to trip on the uneven stones.  But, wow, what a day ... I was so tired by the time we got back to our cabin.  We'll be aboard our riverboat one more night.

Tomorrow we'll be up at an unholy hour (3:30am), but we're sure it'll be worth it.