Memphis

After lunch we drove to Memphis, capital of the ancient kingdom and one of Egypt’s most important cities. Memphis was also the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt.  Today much of Memphis’ splendor has been destroyed, but the Alabastor Sphinx built in the 18^th Dynasty still remains, as does the beautifully carved statue of Ramses II.

We then continued to Sakara, the vast metropolis of ancient Memphis, whose surviving pyramids include the famous Step Pyramid, built by Zoser I in 2686 BC: the word’s oldest free standing stone structure.