Where the pyramids began
Before Giza, there was Saqqara. Here the architect Imhotep stacked six stone mastabas into the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first monumental stone building in the world, around 2650 BC.
The necropolis served Memphis, the first capital of united Egypt, for three thousand years, and excavations still uncover new tombs almost every season.
Tombs of the nobles
The mastabas of officials such as Ti and Mereruka are carved with scenes of daily life: fishermen in papyrus boats, bakers, dancers and herdsmen, some of the liveliest reliefs in Egypt.
Nearby, the Serapeum’s underground galleries hold enormous granite sarcophagi for the sacred Apis bulls, and at Dahshur the Bent and Red pyramids show the builders learning, and correcting, their angles.
Giza is the masterpiece. Saqqara is the workshop where they learned how to make it.
Practical notes
Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur fit into one day from Cairo and are far quieter than Giza.
- The Red Pyramid at Dahshur can be entered; the descent is steep and low.
- Ask for the newly opened tombs, which change from year to year.
