Memphis
Memphis, founded around 3,100 BC, is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Early on, Memphis was more like a fortress from which Menes controlled the land and water routes between Upper Egypt and the Delta. Having probably originated in Upper Egypt, from Memphis he could control the conquered people of Lower Egypt. However, by the 3rd Dynasty, the building at Saqqara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable city.

Tradition tells us that Menes founded the city by creating dykes to protect the area from Nile floods. Afterwards, this great city of the Old Kingdom became the administrative and religious center of Egypt.

Dahshur
Dahshur forms the southernmost area of the Memphis Necropolis and contains a number of pyramid complexes and monuments. Dahshur has only recently been opened to the public, having been a military zone until 1996. As a result, the area is not as developed commercially as Giza, and there is a certain peace and tranquility to the site. It is most noteworthy for being the site that best demonstrates the change from the "step" pyramid to the 'true' pyramid that occurred during the 3rd and 4th Dynasties.

Great Pyramids of Giza
The Great Pyramids of Giza, dating back to 2500 BC are some of the most famous manmade objects in the world. While there are actually over one hundred Pyramids in Egypt, including at least eight more at Giza, the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) is the only "Wonder of the Ancient World" that still survives.

Great Sphinx of Giza
During your time at The Great Pyramids of Giza, there is no escaping the mysterious Sphinx, a symbol which has come to represent the essence of Egypt for thousands of years. With the body of a lion and the head of a king, there is as much mystery surrounding who built it as there is determining why it was built.

Originally named Crocodilopolis, then Arsinoe, Medinet El-Fayoum was the main place of worship of the crocodile god, Sobek. Apparently, during ancient Medinet, crocodiles were adorned with gold and fed honey cakes and meat by the priests.

Of interest are the huge wooden waterwheels, another incredible engineering feat by the ancient Egyptians, though less known than the mighty Pyramids. The waters of the Bahr Yusef are distributed throughout the oasis from Medinet, the capital of the Fayoum. Approximately 200 of the great waterwheels are located throughout the oasis. The Seven Waterwheels, a Fayoum landmark, are surrounded by mangos, palms and willows.

A great stone obelisk was erected in honor of Senwosret I in Abgig during the 12th Dynasty. It was discovered on the ground in two pieces during the 18th century and was recently reconstructed and erected in Medinet. Click here for more information and Booking Details

The approach path to the Temple of Hathor is between two Roman fountains that end at the massive entry gate. Hathor was the goddess of pleasure and love and was generally shown as a cow, or woman with a cow's head.

The enclosure walls are mud-brick and date to the Roman era. Within the walls are the temple, two birth houses, a Coptic Basilica, a sanitorium, a sacred lake and the Temple of the Birth of Isis

The temple has a long history with evidence that Pepi I (Old Kingdom) rebuilt the temple, while other texts refer to reconditioning by Thutmose III, Amenhotep III and Rameses II and III (New Kingdom).

Additions were made during the Greek, Roman and Ptolemy periods.

Abydos in Middle Egypt is an ancient holy place and burial ground of the rulers of the late prehistoric proto-kingdom, as well as the first attested kings of the politically unified Egyptian state.

Buildings constituting the settlement area in northern Abydos dating back to Predynastic times have been found around Kom es-Sultan, while recent excavators have found an Old Kingdom residential area to the south-east which contains a street of mudbrick houses with courtyards and a faience workshop with its kilns.

Abydos is home to "The Cult of Osiris" , the god of the dead. It is said the head of Osiris was buried at the site after he was murdered by his brother.