Memphis Saqqara and Dahshur Tour from Cairo Airport

• 01 Days / 00 Nights
• Max People : 40
• Giza

When you land at Cairo Airport and begin your Memphis Saqqara and Dahshur tour from Cairo Airport your first stop should be Memphis, the city that harbored the torch of a civilization spanning thousands of years.

It is the land where the first manifestations of political organization emerged and where the roots of art, engineering, and religion in ancient Egypt were embedded.

A visit to Memphis is unlike any other visit; it is a return to a time when the identity of a people who built one of the greatest civilizations known to mankind was established. 

Memphis is located directly south of Cairo at the beginning of the Nile Valley near the famous Giza Plateau.

Memphis is the first unified capital of ancient Egypt founded by King Menes at the beginning of the historical era around 3100 BC after he succeeded in uniting the northern and southern regions. Sources indicate that the city was surrounded by walls built of white brick which is why it was called the “White Walls.”

The ancient city of Memphis which you visit as part of the Memphis Saqqara and Dahshur tour from Cairo Airport is located near the village of Mit Rahina on the west bank of the Nile River and only 24 kilometers from the heart of the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Although most of the city’s original ruins have been buried under layers of silt and agricultural land due to the changing course of the river over the centuries archaeologists and research teams continue their efforts to locate ancient buildings which may have been located on relatively higher ground.

Today, the archaeological site of Memphis is centered around Mit Rahina where a small open-air museum houses a collection of colossal ancient statues dating back to the New Kingdom. Although Memphis is no longer a living city it retains a unique place in the annals of history as the first political and administrative capital of Egypt after the unification of the two lands by King Menes.

It maintained its influential role for thousands of years until its status declined in the later periods.

The most striking feature of the Memphis Museum today is the colossal limestone statue of King Ramses II displayed horizontally due to its massive size. It stands approximately thirteen meters tall despite its broken legs. This statue formerly stood in Ramses Square in Cairo before being moved to Giza.

Adjacent to it in the museum is another statue of the same king made of red granite as well as a colossal sphinx made of alabaster believed to date back to the same period.

On the western side of the museum courtyard visitors can see several calcite embalming platforms once used for the mummification of the Apis bulls sacred to the god Ptah.

These platforms each more than five meters long were part of a mummification facility dating back to the reign of King Shoshenq I of the Twenty-second Dynasty which replaced an older less fully documented structure.

The Saqqara area is one of the richest archaeological sites in Egypt. It houses the first pyramid ever built the Step Pyramid of King Djoser which represented a qualitative shift in funerary architecture.

Saqqara is located approximately 30 kilometers south of Cairo and is part of the Memphis Saqqara and Dahshur tour from Cairo Airport and the Necropolis Memphis the Great was used as a cemetery for the elite and kings from the early Pharaonic period until the Late Period.

The Pyramid of Djoser which you will see on the Memphis Saqqara and Dahshur tour from Cairo Airport was designed by the famous architect Imhotep. It is the first integrated, massive stone structure in human history consisting of six stepped terraces built on top of each other.

This pyramid represents the beginning of a new phase of architectural development in ancient Egypt. However Saqqara is not limited to this pyramid it contains other pyramid tombs for kings from various dynasties as well as the tombs of high priests and officials. Their walls are adorned with colorful scenes depicting daily life and religious rituals.

Dahshur is one of the most important archaeological areas south of Cairo. It is distinguished by the presence of a unique group of pyramids that demonstrate the development of pyramid construction in ancient Egypt especially during the reign of King Sneferu founder of the Fourth Dynasty and father of King Khufu.

Dahshur is located to the south of Saqqara and includes a group of pyramids that represent the pharaohs’ attempts to achieve the perfect pyramid shape.

One of Dahshur’s most famous landmarks is the “Bent Pyramid” an early attempt to build a complete pyramid. However it exhibits a pronounced curvature at the top due to changes in the angle of the structure during construction. This change is believed to have been due to structural stability problems.

Nevertheless the Bent Pyramid is one of the most important testaments to the ingenuity of Egyptian engineers in overcoming architectural challenges.

In conclusion, the Memphis Saqqara and Dahshur tour from Cairo Airport is a true opportunity to learn about the beginnings of Egyptian civilization from its earliest locations.

From the moment you leave the airport, the journey begins through three main Pharaonic stations transporting you from Egypt’s first capital to the oldest pyramid in history, and then to the evolution of the pyramids as we know them today.

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Tour Itinerary