Explore Cairo and the Pyramids
All things dread Time, but Time dreads the Pyramids.
Anonymous proverb
For millions of people the three great Pyramids of Giza epitomize Ancient Egypt: no other monuments are so instantly recognized around the world. Yet comparatively few foreigners realize that there are at least 115 further pyramids spread across 70km of desert, from the outskirts of Cairo to the edge of the Fayoum. The mass of theories, claims and counterclaims about how and why the Pyramids were built contributes to the sense of mystery that surrounds them. You can read up on some of the wackier ones – including some involving Martians – at w paranormal.about.com/cs/ancientegypt. Most visitors are content to see the Giza Pyramids and part of the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, both easily accessible from Cairo (tours to Saqqara often include a visit to the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis). Only a minority get as far as the Dahshur pyramid field, while there are also a host of even more obscure pyramids to explore.
Brief history
The derivation of the word “pyramid” is obscure. Per-em-us, an Ancient Egyptian term meaning “straight up”, seems likelier than the Greek pyramis – “wheaten cake”, a facetious descriptive term for these novel monuments. Then again, “obelisk” comes from obeliskos, the ancient Greek for “skewer” or “little spit”.
Whatever, the Pyramids’ sheer antiquity is staggering. When the Greek chronicler Herodotus visited them in 450 BC, as many centuries separated his lifetime from their creation as divide our own time from that of Herodotus, who regarded them as ancient even then. For the Pyramid Age was only an episode in three millennia of pharaonic civilization, reaching its zenith within two hundred years and followed by an inexorable decline, so that later dynasties regarded the works of their ancestors with awe.
The Pyramid Age began at Saqqara in the twenty-seventh century BC, when the III Dynasty royal architect Imhotep enlarged a mastaba tomb to create the first step pyramid. As techniques evolved, an attempt was made to convert another step pyramid at Maidum into a true pyramid by encasing its sides in a smooth shell, but it seems that the design was faulty and the pyramid collapsed at some time under its own weight. According to one theory, this happened during construction of what became the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, necessitating a hasty alteration to the angle of its sides. The first sheer-sided true pyramid, apparently the next to be constructed, was the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, followed by the Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, which marked the zenith of pyramid architecture. After two more perfect pyramids at Giza, fewer resources and less care were devoted to later pyramids (such as those at Abu Sir, South Saqqara and Lisht), and no subsequent pyramid ever matched the standards of the Giza trio.
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The purpose of the pyramids
The purpose of the pyramids
The Pyramids’ enigma has puzzled people ever since they were built. Whereas the Ancient Greeks vaguely understood their function, the Romans were less certain; medieval Arabs believed them to be treasure houses with magical guardians; and early European observers reckoned them the biblical granaries of Joseph. Most archeologists now agree that the Pyramids’ function was to preserve the pharaoh’s ka, or double: a vital force which emanated from the sun god to his son, the king, who distributed it amongst his subjects and the land of Egypt itself. Mummification, funerary rituals, false doors for his ba (soul) to escape, model servants (shabti figures) and anniversary offerings – all were designed to ensure that his ka enjoyed an afterlife similar to its earthly existence. Thus was the social order perpetuated throughout eternity and the forces of primeval chaos held at bay, a theme emphasized in tomb reliefs at Saqqara. On another level of symbolism, the pyramid form evoked the primal mound (benben) at the dawn of creation, a recurrent theme in ancient Egyptian cosmogony. This was represented first by megalithic benben stones, then obelisks, whose pyramidal tips were sheathed in glittering electrum (an alloy of silver and gold), and finally pyramids, topped by electrum-covered pyramidion capstones, as seen in the Egyptian Museum.
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Kerdassa and Harraniyya
Kerdassa and Harraniyya
The villages of Kerdassa and Harraniyya have no connection with the Pyramids, but tour groups often pay one or both of them a visit. Kerdassa (accessible by microbus from the junction of Pyramids Road with Sharia Mansureya) is where most of the scarves, galabiyyas and shirts in Cairo are made, plus carpets, which are sold by the metre. Although no longer a place for bargains, it’s still frequented by collectors of ethnic textiles, particularly Bedouin robes and veils (the best-quality ones sell for hundreds of dollars).
Guided tours often take in Harraniyya, the site of the famous Wissa Wassef Art Centre (daily 10am–5pm; t 02 3381 5746, w wissa-wassef-arts.com and w wissawassef.com). Founded in 1952 by Ramses Wissa Wassef, an architect who wanted to preserve village crafts and alleviate rural unemployment, the centre teaches children to design and weave carpets, and has branched out into batik work and pottery. The pupils, supervised by Wassef’s widow, daughters and the original generation of students, produce beautiful tapestries which now sell for thousands of dollars and are imitated throughout Egypt. You can see them at work (except at lunchtime, Thurs afternoons and Fri) and admire a superb collection, laid out in a mud-brick museum designed by Hassan Fathy. To reach the Art Centre under your own steam, take a taxi or minibus 4km south along the Saqqara road (Maryotteya Canal, west bank) from Pyramids Road, or bus #335 (hourly) from Midan Giza and get off at Harraniyya.
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The cults of Ptah and Sokar
The cults of Ptah and Sokar
In pre-Dynastic times, Ptah was the Great Craftsman or Divine Artificer who invented metallurgy and engineering. However, the people of Memphis esteemed him as the Great Creator who, with a word, brought the universe into being – a concept that never really appealed to other Egyptians. Like most creator gods, he was subsequently linked with death cults and is shown dressed in the shroud of a mummy. The Greeks equated him with Hephaestus, their god of fire and the arts.
Another deity closely associated with Memphis is Sokar, originally the god of darkness but subsequently of death, with special responsibility for necropolises. He is often shown, with a falcon’s head, seated in the company of Isis and Osiris. Although his major festival occurred at Memphis towards the end of the inundation season, Sokar also rated a shrine at Abydos, where all the Egyptian death gods were represented.
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Lesser-known Pyramid sites
Lesser-known Pyramid sites
Even if you’ve been to the famous Pyramids of Giza, all the pyramids at Saqqara (of which the Step Pyramid is the best-known) and those at Dahshur, you still won’t have come anywhere near to having exhausted Egypt’s pyramid sites. Between Giza and Saqqara, for example, lies the group of V Dynasty pyramids at Abu Sir (about £E3 by tuk-tuk from Abu Sir village). Nearby at Abu Ghurab are two temples dedicated to the sun god Re, while on the way down from Giza, you pass two fragmentary pyramids at Zawiyat al Aryan dating from the III and IV dynasties. All of these are currently closed to the public, but you may be able to make private arrangements with the guards.
Much further south, the dramatic “Collapsed Pyramid” of Maidum and the lesser Middle Kingdom pyramids of Hawara and Lahun are easier to reach from the Fayoum, and are covered in Chapter 3. West of Cairo, a kilometre north of the Ring Road’s junction with the Cairo–Alex Desert Road, Abu Ruash (see w talkingpyramids.com/abu-roash) is a very ruined IV Dynasty pyramid which belonged to Cheops’ son, Djedefre. Again, it’s currently closed to the public, but if you have a particular interest you may be able to come to an arrangement with the guards.
