Egypt: Memphis (Day 2)

After an exhilarating visit to the Giza Plateau in the morning, there was one more stop before the morning excursion was over. The mandatory visit to the papyrus store rounded out the morning activities. It's funny but the same exact papyrus store was the one we visited 10 years ago. However, the policy had changed and no photography was allowed inside the store; hence no photos.

As we boarded the bus after the store visit (a lot of our tour mates purchased art work, which was good for the store)we found out that all of us with the exception of one couple signed up for the afternoon optional tour. So the couple got transferred to the other bus that was going back to the hotel.

On this afternoon optional tour, we drove out to the countryside and was driving alongside an irrigation canal the British built during the occupation. Parts of the canal have been used as trash dumping ground. Sad to see there is even a stretch of the canal where you won't even think there's water underneath. We also saw burning garbage on another part of the canal.







The first stop of the afternoon was Memphis, the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom and founded by King Menes. It is currently an open-air museum highlighted by a giant statue of King Ramses II



The centerpiece of the museum is the giant sculpture of King Rameses II which is displayed lying on its back because the legs are broken off the rest of the body. Then they built a roofed structure around it, two floors, to get a better view from a higher spot.







The alabaster sphinx in Memphis is in better shape than the more famous one in Giza Plateau.







Other things on the grounds:













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