River Nile

 The Nile River is the longest river in the world, although some Brazilian scientists are currently claiming that the Amazon River is longer. It is 4,132mi (6,650km) long and travels through or on the border of ten African countries. It begins in the rivers that flow into Lake Victoria, north of Tanzania and flows northwards draining into the Mediterranean Sea. It has two tributaries: White Nile from Central Africa considered as the primary stream and the Blue Nile from Ethiopia considered as the main source of water up to 80% and silt. The two meet in Khartoum, Sudan becoming the Nile. The river is the main water source for both Egypt and Sudan.

The Nile was the lifeline of the Ancient Egyptians. The river flooded each year between June and September. This was due to the heavy summer rains and melted snow that was sent down the Ethiopian mountains into the Nile and overflowing the river banks. The Egyptians used to call this "akhet", the inundation. The flood brought with it dark, fertile soil that was necessary for cultivating the farmlands with wheat, flax and papyrus. The dark soil deposit was called "kemet", the black land and it was about 13mi (20km) wide. Either side of this was the "deshret", the red land which was the desert area. The deshret provided protection from foreign conquerors and in the north where the land was swampy made it impossible for outsiders to cross.

Besides fertile soil, the Nile was also a source for water, transportation and travel. Boats and rafts were built to transport building materials such as stone for large scale projects like the pyramids. It is thought that funerary boats could have been used to carry deceased Pharaohs down the Nile to the afterlife or possibly used to carry them across the Nile to be mummified and buried.

The calendar of the Egyptians was created around the Nile's yearly cycle. It had three seasons: inundation, growing season and harvest season. Great famine has occurred during times of drought, but none worse than during Djoser's reign (Pharaoh of the stepped pyramid) when the Nile failed to flood the plains for seven years. The Famine Stela is an inscription carved into stone that tells the story of Djoser sending his vizier Imhotep to seek answers. Imhotep was visited by the god of fertility, Khnum, in his dreams who promised to make the Nile flow again. Imhotep recounts his dream to Djoser who in turn issues a decree to have Khnum's temple restored and have regular offerings made to the god. Soon after the Nile began to flow once again.

The annual flooding was one of the most important events during Ancient Egypt, except for high-water years when whole crops were destroyed or drought years that caused famine. Today the flow of the Nile is controlled via a dam in Aswan where the reservoir can store the water for release during drier years. This protects the local farmers and the trademarked Egyptian Cotton crop that is grown on the Nile Delta. As Egyptologist Zahi Hawass once said "The Nile is the soul of Egypt".

Saqqara Necropolis

 Sitting modestly before the vast Saqqara Necropolis is the Imhotep Museum, housing archaeological artifacts pertaining to the history of Ancient Egypt. Opened in 2006, it was named after the royal architect Imhotep, who was credited for building the first monumental structure out of stone, being the stepped Pyramid of Djoser.

The Saqqara Necropolis is a vast, ancient burial ground with many pyramids and mastabas within its boundaries. Mastabas were rectangular, flat-roofed tombs, made out of mudbricks. They were used by eminent Egyptians, such as Mereruka in the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom. Mereruka was a vizier, a high ranking and powerful official, and son-in-law to King Teti, the 1st pharaoh of the sixth dynasty. The Mastaba of Mereruka is the largest of all non-royal tombs in Saqqara. Elaborately decorated with vibrant reliefs and a lifelike statue, the tomb was hidden from view until archaeologist Jacques de Morgan discovered and excavated it in 1892. The mastaba is also the burial ground for his wife (daughter of King Teti) and their son. The mastaba has a complex floorplan consisting of 33 chambers of which 21 are dedicated to Mereruka himself and the rest to his wife and son.

Beside Mereruka's mastaba is the Pyramid of Teti. Once a smooth-sided pyramid, it now resembles more of a hill, largely due to poor preservation. However, the interior chambers and corridors are very well preserved. It is unknown how long Teti reigned but it is estimated at 12 years. Teti had several wives and up to 13 children (3 sons and 10 daughters). It is thought that he was murdered by his bodyguards in order to make way for Userkare's reign. It is debated whether Userkare was possibly a son of Teti and whether he was a legitimate heir. Regardless of circumstances, his reign was short-lived, less than 5 years, when he was succeeded by Teti's son Pepi I.

Teti's predecessor was Unas, the last pharaoh of the 5th dynasty. His smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC was the smallest of the Old Kingdom. What made it significant though was the discovery of Pyramid Texts which were funerary texts carved into walls of burial chambers to help a pharaoh's spirit to be preserved in the afterlife. Unas' pyramid was the first inscription of such texts and at that time was reserved for pharaohs only. The Pyramid Texts were the predecessors to Coffin Texts when the spells were written on coffins and the Book of the Dead which were spells written on papyrus.

Egyptologists weren't able to agree on Unas' reign so it is guesstimated at between 15-30 years. It seems that Unas died without a male heir, as his only son predeceased him. As such it brought the end of the 5th Dynasty.

Diagonally across from the Pyramid of Unas is the Pyramid of Userkaf, the founder of the 5th Dynasty. He reigned for about seven years in the early 25th century BC. He had one daughter and one son, Sahure, who succeeded him. Little is known about his activities other than ascending the worship of Ra, deity of the sun. Ra was believed to rule the sky, the earth and the underworld. He was the god of the sun, order, kings and the sky. Pharaohs were closely aligned to Ra, referring to themselves as "Sons of Ra". Pyramids, obelisks and sun temples were specially aligned to honour Ra.

Userkaf's pyramid was very roughly put together. The core was built with small, roughly-hewn limestone blocks which likely saved a lot on labour but also produced an inferior quality pyramid. However, the outer layer was of fine limestone giving it a grand impression. Sadly as stone robbers removed the outer limestone, the loosely built core was exposed and crumbled leaving a pile of rubble in the shape of a hill. It was customary for pharaohs to build burials for their wives nearby and Userkaf had built a smaller pyramid to the southwest corner of his own using the same construction material and style. Unsurprisingly, the Queen's pyramid is in rubbles too and her pyramid was stripped to such an extent that her burial chamber became exposed to the elements.

And this brings me to the final pyramid. Between the smaller pyramids of Unas and Userkaf stands the Pyramid of Djoser. It is a stepped pyramid built by the royal architect Imhotep and the oldest stone structure of its size in the world. Built in the 27th century BC, this six-tier, four-sided structure dominates the Saqqara landscape. The pyramid once covered in polished white limestone was originally 205ft (62.5m) tall with a base of 358x397ft (109x121m). Beneath the pyramid is a 6km labyrinth of tunnelled chambers and galleries that meets with a central shaft, providing the king with space for his and his family's burials and the storage of goods and offerings. Once completed it stood out from the large mastabas that were constructed out of mudbricks.

Djoser's pyramid is the only stepped-pyramid that was fully completed and continues to exist. A pyramid typically requires 20 years to complete. Djoser, one of the principal leaders of the 3rd Dynasty, ruled for between 19-28 years, as such he saw the completion of his pyramid. Djoser's successor Sekhemkhet planned to outdo the building of his own pyramid by making it taller with a bigger base but unfortunately he died within 9 years of his reign and the pyramid remained unfinished. After Sekhemkhet's there was one more stepped-pyramid just south of Giza but it is not confirmed whether it was finished or if it just eroded over time as it is a ruined structure now.

The Saqqara Necropolis has many more minor pyramids, mastabas and funerary complexes that are known of but there's nothing more exciting than when new discoveries are made. A recent discovery (late 2020) of 100 intact wooden coffins, brightly covered with hieroglyphs and well-preserved mummies inside has been found in the Saqqara.