Memphis - the first capital of a unified Ancient Egypt
Founded at the border between Upper and Lower Egypt, Memphis remained one of the country’s most important political, religious, and cultural centers for almost three thousand years.
Today, little remains of this once-great city, but the monuments discovered here give us an idea of the scale and significance of the ancient capital.
Our journey begins at the open-air museum of Memphis.
Here you will see the famous Alabaster Sphinx, generally dated to the New Kingdom and traditionally associated with Pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is the largest known sphinx carved from a single block of alabaster that could be transported.
The museum’s main attraction is the colossal statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II, carved from sandstone. Even without the lower part of its legs, the statue measures more than ten meters in length.
Colossi like this once adorned the great Temple of Ptah, the chief god of Memphis and the patron deity of craftsmen and creation.
After exploring the ancient capital, we continue to Saqqara, the vast necropolis of Memphis, where kings, nobles, and high-ranking officials were buried for thousands of years.
Here stands the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt’s first monumental stone pyramid complex, designed by the great architect Imhotep.
We will also visit the Pyramid of Pharaoh Unas, whose interior walls are inscribed with the earliest known Pyramid Texts - sacred spells associated with the king’s journey through the afterlife and his rebirth.
One of the most extraordinary sites in Saqqara is the Serapeum, an underground complex containing enormous granite sarcophagi intended for the sacred Apis bulls. The sheer scale of the complex, the size of the stone blocks, and the remarkable quality of their craftsmanship continue to leave a powerful impression.
Memphis and Saqqara offer an opportunity to discover Egypt beyond the famous Pyramids of Giza and to trace the earliest stages in the development of the great ancient Egyptian civilization - from its first capital to its earliest pyramids and sacred texts.
The private “Memphis and Saqqara” tour is designed as a full-day experience
