Bart Bear's Blog

Time for another photo from the Oldies big trip, so here's one from Egypt. This is a place called Saqqara and the area around here has the oldest pyramids in Egypt. The one that looks like it has been built in layers is the first attempt at a real pyramid. It is the Step Pyramid, built for Pharoah Djoser in the 27th century BC.When it was new it was covered in polished white limestone, but today all the limestone has been pinched and only the stone core of the pyramid is left. Dad says it is actually the most impressive pyramid in Egypt. It is about 60 metres tall and has around 5 km of tunnels underneath it. The thing on the right that looks like a rubble pile is also the remains of a pyramid, the pyramid of Userkaf. It was built with a mud brick core so ever since the outside limestone blocks were stolen from it, it has been slowly eroding away. In the distance to the left of the Step Pyramid is the Pryamid of Unas, a very important one because it was in there that the first of the Pyramid Texts was discovered in 1881. Dad walked up onto a small hill at Saqqara (probably a broken-down pyramid) and could see 12 pyramids from there including the Red and the Bent Pyramids. The Oldies saw so much in Egypt and want to get back there as soon as they can. This time they better take me, because I spend far too much time on Google finding out what these photos are and want to see the real thing.

Labels: desert, Egypt