Sakkara

Sakkara is one section of the great necropolis of Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital and the kings of the 1st Dynasty as well as that of the 2nd Dynasty. are mostly buried in this section of the Memphis necropolis. It has been of constant interest to Egyptologists.
5th Dynasty kings such as Userkaf (pyramid) and Djedkare-Izezi built their pyramids at Sakkara. The last king of 5th Dynasty, Unas, decorated his burial chamber with the famous 'Pyramid Texts', spells written to help the king ascend to the heavens and descend again, which reveal the relationship of the king to the gods. 6th Dynasty kings such as Pepi I, Merenre and Pepi II built their pyramids to the south of Sakkara.

Sakkara is also famous for its private Old Kingdom tombs, which contain beautiful and revealing scenes men force- feeding geese, cattle crossing a canal, men dragging a statue on a sled to the tomb. The best-known tombs are those of Ti, Kagemni, the 'Two Brothers', and Ptahhotep; the most famous is that of Meruruka.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser (Zoser)

Sakkara is best known for the Step Pyramid, the oldest known of Egypt's 97 pyramids. It was built for King Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty by the architect and genius Imhotep, who designed it and its surrounding complex to be as grand as it was unique and revolutionary. Imhotep was the first to build stone tombs in honor of the king's majesty..

On the Pyramid, most of the outer casing is gone. In some places the core masonry has disappeared as well. The original structure was an underground burial chamber with a vertical shaft leading to it. The entrance was sealed with a 3 ton piece of granite. The face of the mastaba was a fine Tura limestone. It was then enlarged to make the square mastaba rectangular. Afterwards, the process to make it a true step pyramid was begun to make it into the six-tiered pyramid which is there today. A Tura limestone face was added on. On the northern side of the pyramid, a few blocks of the casing remain.

The Pyramid of Unas (Unis)

Unas (Unis)(c. 2356 - 2323 BC) was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty. The pyramid dedicated to this king lies to the south of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.
The Pyramid of Unas (Unis) is in poor condition however, the burial chambers are worth the visit.

In this chamber, you will find the earliest Egyptian funerary texts carved into the walls and filled with a blue pigment. These are referred to as the Pyramid Texts.
They are the rituals and hymns that were said during the burial . They were intended to help the pharaoh's soul in the afterworld to find Re, the sun god. Before this time, nothing was engraved in the walls of the pyramids. The pyramid, when it was complete stood about 62 ft (18.5 m). The core of the pyramid was loose blocks and rubble and the casing was of limestone.