Page 37 - WDT Magazine Egypt

“Ancient Egypt grips the
imagination, touches the
soul and inspires the un-

inspired. You simply can’t
escape over 7000 years
of historical influence An-
cient Egypt enjoys.”

The nondescript entrance of the Memphis Open
Air Museum belied the historical significance of this
World Heritage Site. Memphis was the great political
and administrative heart of the Old Kingdom founded
in 3100 BC by Menes, the ruler who united the king-
doms of Upper and Lower Egypt. Memphis fell out of
fashion with the emergence of Cairo and Alexandria,
and most of its temples and icons were dismantled
and transported to these cities. What is left is show-
cased in the open air museum park about the size of
two football fields and dotted with a relatively small
number of stone artifacts identified with signs in
English.
Strolling the dusty grounds, It was hard to visualize
this place as the center of a great civilization. A couple
of significant artifacts made the trip worth it, like a
beautifully honed monumental eighty-ton statue of
Ramses II and an impressive sphinx carved from a
single, enormous piece of alabaster.

Left: A large sphinx carved from a single,
enormous piece of alabaster.
Right: Standing statue of Ramses II in
open air museum of Memphis.

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 37