MEMPHIS

HISTORY

Memphis is the Greek version of the Egyptian word Men-nefer which means ‘the enduring and beautiful’. Another term for Memphis was Hut-Ka-Ptah meaning ‘mansion of the soul of Ptah', with Ptah being the patron god of the city. The term Hut-Ka-Ptah was rendered Aigyptos in Greek and in turn, rendered Egypte by the French.

When Menes united Lower and Upper Egypt, he established Memphis as the first capital of Ancient Egypt. The city is located on the west bank of the Nile River south of modern day Cairo. It served as the capital during the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom and in later dynasties, functioned as a religious and cultural center. The importance of Memphis to the Ancient Egyptians, even when not serving as the capital, is evidenced by the amount of building activity that took place throughout the centuries. During the 18th dynasty, Thutmose I and Amenhotep III built chapels at the great temple dedicated to Ptah and in the 19th dynasty, Ramessess II constructed several colossi. Towards the end of pharaonic rule in Ancient Egypt, the city started its decline but saw one final moment of glory when Alexander the Great was crowned pharaoh in Memphis and then buried there, though his body will later be moved to Alexandria.

FAST FACTS 

Memphis is associated with several necropolises with the major ones being Saqqara, Giza, Dashur, and Abu Rawash. 

The colossus of Ramesses II that once stood at the temple of Ptah measures about 34 ft in the given state. The statue is broken, missing a large section below the knees.

The statue of Ramesses that once guarded the temple of Ptah.

VISITING MEMPHIS

While Memphis was a major city for centuries, there is not much left for the tourist to visit except an 'open-air' museum by the modern day village of Mit-Rahina, located south of Cairo and east of Saqqara. The museum has artifacts displayed in rows around a garden filled with palm trees and a colossus of Ramesses II housed in an enclosed structure.

Admission ticket: 60 Egyptian Pounds or
$3.41 US Dollars (conversion rate as of March 2018)

This was my first visit to the museum since it was not included in the itinerary during my first trip to Egypt, which was through Contiki. On this trip, Trafalgar arranged a visit to Memphis on the same day as Giza and Saqqara. The museum was our first stop of the day and the weather was absolutely perfect, lots of sunshine and cool (in mid 60s Fahrenheit). When we arrived, our tour guide Tarek escorted us to the building housing the colossus, shared a history lesson on the statue, then gave us time to walk around the garden at our own pace. Inside the building, you have the opportunity to walk around the statue, which is displayed laying down, and to climb a set of stairs to get a better view of Ramesses. As for the garden, there is no specific start or end point so you can visit the artifacts in any order and each item has a caption, some providing detailed information. One of the greatest statues on display is the Albaster Sphinx which weights around 80 tons.

View of the colossus from the ground floor.

Alabaster Sphinx
On the right, is the building housing the colossus. 

Sample of the detailed captions accompanying the artifacts.

The museum is rather small and a visit should take no more than 90 minutes, assuming you stop to read each caption and examine each detail. If your plan is to just walk around the garden snapping a few pictures along the way, then the visit will last less than an hour. As such, if not traveling with a tour group, it may be best to arrange a stop at Memphis alongside visits to Saqqara and Dashur, which are nearby, rather than making a special trip from Cairo just to see the museum. 

A view of the back portion of the garden.

Our visit was in early January and it was cold enough for jackets and possibly a scarf. If you plan on visiting during the warmer months, definitely wear a hat and sunscreen since there is minimal shade in the garden. In terms of the terrain, the ground is pretty level with no hills so those with mobility issues should have no problem in the garden area; however, one does need to climb a few steps to enter the enclosure with the colossus. At this site, the vendors are lined up along a fence bordering the garden but they stay in this general area and will not follow you around the garden.

Towards the back is part of the stairs one
climbs to reach the second floor of the enclosure.

To the left is the vendor area at the museum.

The visit to Memphis was one of the things I enjoyed most about the trip. Aside the perfect weather, the museum was void of crowds so I had the opportunity to enjoy a leisure stroll in the garden while viewing the artifacts and taking pictures. I also liked how each item had a caption with detailed information. This may seem like common sense when presenting historical artifacts but proper labeling is lacking at several sites throughout Egypt.