SAKKARA- Djoser's  Masterpiece

Sakkara is located about 30km outside of Cairo.  Sakkara or Saqqara is an immense burial ground. Sakkara's name originates from Sokar, an ancient Egyptian funerary god. Sakkara serves as a necropolis for Egypt's ancient capital, Memphis.  Sakkara is famous the world over for its Step Pyramid, built for Pharaoh Djoser during the 3rd dynasty (2649-2575 BC).  The Step Pyramid is the oldest pyramid in Egypt, built even before the Great Pyramids of Giza (built by 4th dynasty).  The Saqqara pyramid complex stands on a plateau raised above the Nile river.  The Pyramid is called the "Step Pyramid" because it looks like steps are protruding out of it on all sides.  The fact of the matter is that this shape is due to Mastabas being built upon one another over the years.  Mastabas are family burial rooms and were for the Pharaohs and their families.  The Step Pyramid was built in five stages, initially starting from a mastaba tomb.  This Pyramid is 58.8 meters tall and its base is rectangular.

Another pivotal monumental work at Sakkara is the funerary complex of Djoser.  This complex was built by Imhotep who was an architect and court physician.  This funerary complex has a very narrow entrance which leads to a very long path with 40 assorted pillars arranged into two rows.  This monumental building is located a very hundred meters away from the base of the Step Pyramid. 

I visited the Sakkara pyramid complex on February 2010.  The weather was unusually warm on this day and thus summer clothes was a must in order to keep cool.  Before we visited the Step Pyramid platform itself, we first watched a movie about the site.  If you wish to learn more about Sakkara before visiting the site then  go to the Sakkara Museum first.  I recommend this movie as it gives you valuable insight on the Step Pyramid and mastabas.  Also, the movie is only about 5 minutes and thus will not keep you very long at all.  After watching the movie we had to take a tour bus to the top of the Sakkara platform.  You can walk to the platform from the museum and video building, but it is quite far and steep.  We decided not to walk also due to the harsh temperature.  

When we reached this site we first visited the mortuary complex of courts and chapels.  On our way into the site we saw people excavating a certain plot of land near a very bad conditioned pyramid which looked like literally a pile of dirt.  This just reinforces the fact that more and more archeological wonders are being found on a daily basis.  After visiting the mortuary complex which was decorated lavishly with hieroglyphics and figures, we descended into the bad conditioned pyramid.  The passage way was low, narrow, and steep.  Once at the bottom we viewed the burial chamber and after that we rapidly ascended out due to the intense temperature that was present at the bottom of the pyramid.  After that we walked a little ways to the Funerary complex of Djoser.  Thus complex was quite large and contained many pillars of assorted heights and designs.  The roof of the building was semi intact and was quite high, roughly about 12 meters high.  After walking through the funerary you come to a huge open area which leads to the Step Pyramid itself.  The area in front of the Step pyramid is about extremely large and thus makes it a great place to view the pyramid and possibly take a family picture or two.  At this time the Step Pyramid seemed to be under partial reconstruction.  I'm not sure what this was all about but the construction should vanish in a couple months or so.  When walking around the pyramid you realize how popular this site is as there are hundreds of people about.  This is a sharp contrast to Dashur which hardly attracts any tourists at all.   Overall I would recommend a trip to Sakkara as it is close to Cairo, and contains the oldest pyramid in all of Egypt built by Imhotep and built for Djoser.