Discovering Ancient Memphis

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Cairo is the site of the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis and has built itself into a large, modern capital city right around the old sites. Right outside of the ancient pyramids sits a modern newsstand, much like one would see on a street corner in New York. Behind the pyramids sat our rather modern hotel.Quick Tips: Bargain, bargain, bargain! The vendors will always quote outrageous prices, but watch how fast they go down when you walk away. Also, they can be rather obnoxious, always wanting to take your picture. Be careful, though, because they will always want a tip before leaving you alone.Best Way To Get Around: We toured the city in a nice air-conditioned bus. We were...Read More

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Mena House Oberoi - Cairo

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Hotel | "Mena House"

The Pool Photo - Mena House Oberoi - Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

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The Mena House Oberoi Hotel is literally across the street from the Pyramids of Giza. The hotel was originally built for the royal Mena family as a royal palace. Originally, it was within the limits of the Nile River flooding. Each year, the first floor of the palace would be flooded with the Nile River waters. Since the building of the Aswan dams, the Nile no longer floods and has changed its course. Our room was on the second floor, near the rear of the grounds, but our view was towards the pyramids. Our room had a nice-sized porch where we could see the two tallest pyramids. At night, we could actually see part of the pyramid’s light show, which we never got the chance to go to....Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 24, 2005

Mena House Oberoi - Cairo
Pyramids Road Giza
Cairo, Egypt
20-23833222

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Step Pyramid of Saqqara

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Attraction | "Steppe Pyramid of Saqqara"

Djoser's Pyramid Photo - Step Pyramid of Saqqara, Cairo, Egypt

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The Steppe Pyramid is the only example of what most Egyptian scholars consider the second stage towards the building of the first true pyramid of Egypt. The first stage was the mastabas, which were rectangular mounds of earth placed over the dead. They believe that is how the Steppe pyramid began, and then the architect of the pharaoh’s tomb, his son, Imhotep, decided to build mastabas on top of each other. That is how this pyramid evolved into eventually resembling six rectangles on top of each other. This structure is where the pharaoh was eventually buried. Nearby there is a deep pit that was also a place of burial, but it was not for the pharaoh’s body. It was for...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 24, 2005

Step Pyramid of Saqqara
North Saqqara
Cairo, Egypt
No phone available

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Memphis Open Air Museum

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Attraction

Dad and Ramsses II's Thumb Photo - Memphis Open Air Museum, Cairo, Egypt

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The ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, is now mostly buried under the modern city of Cairo. Many minor excavations that are done for building new roads, buildings, etc., as well as simply plowing a field, results in the rediscovery of artifacts dating to the time of the pharaohs ruling in Memphis. Any artifact found, whether by an archaeologist or a farmer, is the property of the Egyptian government, and no compensation is due to the finder. The Memphis Open Air Museum is where some of the statues found dating to the time of the pharaohs’ rule in Memphis have ended up. We began by exploring the statues outside the building. There were quite a few statues of pharaohs wearing the White Cr...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 29, 2005

Memphis Open Air Museum
19 miles south of Cairo
Cairo, Egypt

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Egypt Carpets Institute

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Attraction

Egypt Carpets Institute Photo - Egypt Carpets Institute, Cairo, Egypt

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In Egypt, there are laws against child labor, much like the US. Children can only work in family business, sell stuff on the streets, or work at learning a trade. Most Egyptian children learn go to school not only to learn the subjects associated with school, but they also go to specific schools to learn a trade. A child may learn the trade related to their family’s business as to be able to take over when they grow up. Other children go to a school that teaches a specific trade. We visited an Egypt Carpet Institute, where we were able to watch the children of all ages learning how to make the carpets. We began our visit on the lower floor. Here there is a large room with groups of ch...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 30, 2005

Egypt Carpets Institute
Outskirts of Cairo
Cairo, Egypt

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Giza Pyramids and The Sphinx

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Attraction | "Pyramids & The Sphinx"

Khufu's Pyramid Photo - Giza Pyramids and The Sphinx, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

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We made four stops while visiting the site of the Giza Pyramids. Our first stop was at Khufu’s Pyramid. This stop was the place where the vendors were the most annoying. They kept trying to give us stuff, tell us it was a gift, and then ask for money. You basically had to stuff it back into their hands or drop it on the ground. They were also very interested in gaining money for taking pictures using our cameras. They actually pretty much forced the camera off of my dad’s neck so they could take a picture of us. It is not even a good picture because we were so annoyed with them. Despite the vendors, the pyramid is still a wonderful thing to see. If you want, you can climb part of the way up i...Read More

We made four stops while visiting the site of the Giza Pyramids. Our first stop was at Khufu’s Pyramid. This stop was the place where the vendors were the most annoying. They kept trying to give us stuff, tell us it was a gift, and then ask for money. You basically had to stuff it back into their hands or drop it on the ground. They were also very interested in gaining money for taking pictures using our cameras. They actually pretty much forced the camera off of my dad’s neck so they could take a picture of us. It is not even a good picture because we were so annoyed with them. Despite the vendors, the pyramid is still a wonderful thing to see. If you want, you can climb part of the way up it. I did not get around to it, as I could not get through the vendors. I barely made it to the base of the pyramid before I had to go back to the bus.

Our second stop was at a place where one could take a panoramic picture of all three pyramids. Here we had the option to ride a camel, but I chose to ride on the air-conditioned bus to the next pyramid instead. I instead spent our time at this stop taking photos of the pyramids as well as casually browsing the vendor stores set up here. Unlike at Khufu’s pyramid, here the vendors were not too aggressive.

Our third stop was at Khafre’s pyramid. Here was another picture opportunity. There were very few vendors here, so I was able to leisurely take photos of the other side of Khufu’s pyramid, since I had not really been able to at the first stop, although this view of this side of the pyramid is slightly blocked by the Boat Museum.

Our last stop was at a café that overlooked the Sphinx and the pyramids. It was right net to the Sphinx and the valley temple, but we did not get to go very close to the Sphinx, as we arrived at the same time as the scheduled clearing out of tourists. Several times a day, the Sphinx and temple area are cleared out so that the police can make sure it is safe. I guess they get a lot of bomb threats for that area. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 1, 2005

Giza Pyramids and The Sphinx
Giza Plateau
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

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Egyptian Museum

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Attraction

Outside Egyptian Museum Photo - Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt

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We entered the museum by going through two security checkpoints with metal detectors. They first let you into the gated area surrounding the museum (this is as far as your camera can go, as no cameras are allowed inside the building). The second one was when you entered the actual museum building. Unlike most tourist spots in Egypt, this was one place where you could not beep when going through the metal detector. We started our visit at probably the most famous artifact in the museum, the Palette of Narmer. For me, it was an amazing experience to see the piece of actual true palette that I had spent 2 weeks studying by the use of pictures in a class the previous semester. The palette ...Read More

We entered the museum by going through two security checkpoints with metal detectors. They first let you into the gated area surrounding the museum (this is as far as your camera can go, as no cameras are allowed inside the building). The second one was when you entered the actual museum building. Unlike most tourist spots in Egypt, this was one place where you could not beep when going through the metal detector.

We started our visit at probably the most famous artifact in the museum, the Palette of Narmer. For me, it was an amazing experience to see the piece of actual true palette that I had spent 2 weeks studying by the use of pictures in a class the previous semester. The palette depicts King Narmer uniting Lower and Upper Egypt. He is often considered the first pharaoh to rule over both upper and lower Egypt. The palette dates to around 3,200 BCE and is one of Egypt’s oldest surviving historical records. It is hard to imagine that the palette was caved over 5,000 years ago, because it remains in such good condition. I believe that seeing this palette is definitely worth pushing your way through the crowd of tourists surrounding the case.

The rest of the museum is just as overwhelming. There are many rooms on the two floors of the museum. The walls of each room are covered with cases containing artifacts, and in many rooms, statues stand in the middle. My favorite thing to see besides the Palette of Narmer was the Tutankhamen exhibit. The exhibit took up a good portion of the museum’s second floor. The exhibit included the well-recognized golden burial mask of Tutankhamen, the many enormous sarcophagi that he was buried within, and many other items that were buried in his tomb.

Before leaving the museum, I got my camera off the bus and took the only photos I could of the outside statues and the building. I could not pass up buying postcards of the Palette of Narmer and mailing one with a stamp of one of the Tutankhamen statues that are in the museum. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 2, 2005

Egyptian Museum
Tahrir Square
Cairo, Egypt
+20 (2) 579 6974

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Papyrus Institute

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Attraction | "Luxor Papyrus Institute"

Luxor Papyrus Institute Photo - Papyrus Institute, Cairo, Egypt

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We started our visit by getting a lecture on how Papyrus paper is made. We were showed the Papyrus plant and how the stem of the plant is cut into slices for use in making papyrus paper. The slices are laid out and put under a press for a couple weeks to form papyrus paper. The pieces are able to stick together using the sugar in the plant’s stem acting like natural glue. At least that is how I understood it was done. We also learned how durable papyrus is. They have found examples dating back at least 5,000 years that are still in great condition. Papyrus can be rolled and bent and soaked and water and will usually come back to original state. We also learned how to tell t...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 6, 2005

Papyrus Institute
Avenue Of The Pyramids
Cairo, Egypt

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