Saqqara Egypt, a few hours outside of Cairo, is known as the burial ground for the ancient capital of Memphis. In this location, some of the world’s most beautiful and well preserved hieroglyphs and depictions of maritime life are found. Saqqara’s earliest tombs date back to the first dynasty, circa . Saqqara Egypt is a large complex featuring tombs, catacombs, and pyramids. Standing in front of a towering steppe pyramid and gazing down the looming tunnels of the catacombs, you can truly appreciate the intricate and captivating structures of Ancient Egypt and their near cultural obsession with the afterlife.
Visiting Saqqara Egypt with field experts
My department at Alexandria Centre for Maritime Archaeology & Underwater took a field trip with Dr. Emad to go and visit the amazing location. While the Pyramids of Giza are definitely worth the visit to Egypt alone, this location in particular has some of the best preservation efforts I have seen in Egypt. The Catacombs are stunning and the Teti burial chambers are abound with images I had only seen in books.
It was other worldly to behold this beautiful collection of artwork. To see where they were originally created instead of being presented a foreign museum. Literally, I was inhaling the dank, heavy and musty air within the tombs and getting high on history.
Why is Saqqara worth the visit?
If you plan on visiting Egypt, as I recommend you should, try to take a trip to Saqqara. The monuments have been recently reopened with new restoration and aside from the group of Egyptian students, I did not see too many foreign nationalities visiting. This was several months ago, so the recent pandemic had no effect.
As an avid traveler and person more keen on visiting the lesser known, but possibly more enamoring, locations; it was such an honor to be able to not only see this location for myself, but to also have my amazing colleagues and an expert in the field as my guide.
Check out my post on diving the Red Sea for more information on traveling Egypt! Or if you are interested in reading some more about my department’s outreach programs check out my blog on the MAOP efforts!
