Memphis, the ancient city.
The oldest buildings in Cairo were built in the last hundreds of years BC, during the Greco-Roman era. However, the Giza pyramids, some of the oldest structures on earth, are located outside Cairo. Although the pyramids are close to Cairo, they are much older than the city, indicating that the pyramids and Cairo have two different histories.
The pyramids at Giza and elsewhere in the desert near Cairo are part of the legacy of the ancient city and the civilization that fell long before Cairo was built. This area was called Memphis by the people who lived there. Memphis was the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) and where the pharaohs who built the pyramids lived.
The City of Memphis was the first ancient Egyptian capital. More than 100 pyramids were built near Cairo when Memphis was the most important city in Egypt and perhaps the world.
History of Memphis:
Manf or Mnfr or Memphis is an ancient Egyptian city founded in 3200 BC by King Narmer and is now a World Heritage Site. During the Old Kingdom (dynasties 3-6), it was the capital of Egypt, and people worshipped Ptah, the god of craftsmen and architects.
Memphis was called the “white wall”, probably referred to as the king’s palace, built of white bricks and stood until the 26th century BC. The new name for Memphis comes from the Egyptian word Men-never, the name of a nearby pyramid built during the Sixth Dynasty.
Where is the City of Memphis:
The ruins of this ancient capital lie in a village called Mit Rahina on the west bank of the Nile, 20 km south of Cairo and 13 miles south of Giza. The town is in Badrashin, which is a city. The site is over 5,000 years old, so not many remains of the city itself. However, some exciting artifacts and statues have still been found in the last 100 years.
Open-air Museum of Memphis
The statue of Ramses II at the entrance and the colossal statue of Ramses II sprawled on the floor are two of the essential pieces in the Mit Rahina Open Air Museum, the ruins of ancient Memphis. There is also a statue made of alabaster that looks like the Sphinx and some other monuments.
The colossal statue of Ramesses II, found there standing over 30 feet high, is the most impressive. Ramesses II ruled from Thebes, which is now located near Luxor. This was long after Memphis took over in the 13th century BC. Even after the pyramids of Giza were built 1,500 years ago, Memphis was still necessary.
Great Statues of Ramses II:
Italian archaeologist Giovanni Caviglia found a limestone statue 10 meters high and 1820 meters long near the temple of the god “Ptah” in the ruins of ancient Memphis (the god of craftsmen and architects).
Another giant statue of Ramesses II was found in the temple of the god “Ptah”. It was similar to the original and stood in Ramses Square in the Egyptian Museum until 2006. This statue is now the most famous object at the entrance to the Grand Egyptian Museum.
King Ramses II ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. He is often regarded as the greatest, most famous, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom. The Egyptians who came after he called him “the great ancestor.”
Old Memphis Cemetery.
Saqqara necropolis is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. The people of ancient Memphis used it to bury kings, non-kings, and even animals. The Mastaba of Ti and the tomb of King Djoser in the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first pyramid ever built, were some of the most important tombs in the Saqqara necropolis.
Mastaba Tei, one of the most elaborate and best-preserved tombs ever found, helped modern people learn more about life in the Old Kingdom. It is one of the few ways to understand how people lived during this time.
The largest animal tombs and cult buildings are also in the Saqqara necropolis. The Egyptians kept a lot of animals as pets, and the animals were critical to agriculture. People believed cats would watch over their children, and many animals, such as hawks, falcons, and scarab beetles, were considered sacred.
