The site of Saqqara is the central portion of the Memphis necropolis which stretches for more than 30 kilometers. The moment your van will turn onto the road that led to Sakkara, you will feel as traveling back in time.
At Saqqara, the oldest complete stone building complex in history was built: Djoser’s step pyramid, which is not as impressive as the ones at Giza, but it is much older And partially covered to ongoing renovations. It was built for King Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty by the architect and genius Imhotep and high officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis.
The Step pyramid is an archaeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis. The Step Pyramid was built for the 2nd king of Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty, Kind Djoser, and is considered to be the foundation on which all later pyramids were based upon. The pyramid was built by a genius architect of the time who based the theory of the pyramid on the more traditional ancient Egyptian funerary chamber the “mastaba”.
This first Egyptian pyramid consisted of six mastabas (of decreasing size) built atop one another in what were clearly revisions and developments of the original plan. The Step pyramid complex is comprised of a series of sections creating the complex, much like later pyramids.
It also contains offering rooms and most of the other features that were often found in both earlier and later tombs. The Mortuary Temple is just north of the pyramid and is in total ruin. On the southern wall back across the Great Court from the pyramid are carved cobra heads or uraei. The cobra head is an often seen as a symbol in Egypt. It was once a symbol of the north. The Southern Tomb is located just outside of the southern wall. Steps lead up the wall to the other tombs and monuments outside the walls.
Traveling to Saqqara is popular from Sinai and Red Sea resorts , you may go individual or booking any of the group tours from your hotel if you stay in Cairo, Luxor or Aswan or from the resort if you are staying near the Red Sea or the Sinai Peninsula.
