Monday 30 April . Meidum
We left the ship at 7 am for an hours drive to the Meidum Pyramid. This is a step pyramid and one of the earliest constructed. Pyramid building was something that the ancient Egyptians had to learn empirically. These earlier attempts ended up as odd shapes , as they realised that too heavy a structure was destroying the base with the pyramid's weight pressing down on the foundations. Hence different angles at the top and the bottom, rather than a pure geometric shape that later followed
Our journey into the interior of this pyramid was quite something. We climbed up to the entrance, and then down 56 meter steep sloping corridor which led downwards by about 10 metres vertically to the centre of the pyramid. From there we went 7 metres upwards vertically on ladders, to reach the burial chamber where the sarcophagus of the pharaoh had been. This was the most adventurous of all the trips we had undertaken during our holiday. Coming down with certainly a challenge on the stepladders. But, no pain, no gain, and the effort was worth it.
We had just 90 minutes there and then returned to the ship. Along the way, viewing from a distance the huge greenhouses that Egypt had constructed. Although the greenhouses are not needed to conserve heat, they are used because they conserve water, and need only 20% of what would be used by the same plants outdoors
Once back aboard, we had a briefing at 12 which went on and on about tips and appraisal forms before telling us what we actually wanted to know which was what time we were going to be picked up from the ship. We were delighted to find this was 00:30 am and not earlier, for our 03.30 flight to Munich.
Then after an Asian lunch, the first session of the packing, a swim and then reading on the back deck before Chris's siesta leading up to tea at 5 pm. At 5:30 pm there was a film on how they had saved Egypt's oldest pyramid. Over dramatic as always in such documentaries. But none the less interesting to see how they strengthened the burial chamber with stainless steel rods.
We continued to sit on the back deck, before we docked on the outskirts of Cairo. We then had a coffee and a beer on our balcony, which by this time, was overlooked by a very modern ferry which reached to just below the level of our balcony. Then a barbecue on deck, where we soaked up the delights of the Nile.
Meidum Pyramid
The area contains a large pyramid and several mud brick mastabas. The pyramid was Egypt's first straight-sided one, but it partially collapsed in ancient times.tThe area is located 72 kilometres south of modern Cairo.
The pyramid at Meidum is thought to be just the second pyramid built after Djoser's and may have been originally built for Huni, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynast.
Today there is little to suggest that this monument once indeed was a pyramid. All that remains now is a three-stepped tower rising up from a hill of debris. It has longtime been assumed that, while the pyramid was being converted from a Step Pyramid into a true Pyramid, the weight of the added outer casing was pressing down so hard that the entire structure collapsed. However, recent archaeological research has found no trace of tools or equipment that would have been left behind by the workers, had they actually witnessed the pyramid's collapse. If this pyramid collapsed, it must have been at a much later date than was assumed. It is also very likely that this monument, like so many others, fell victims to local peasants quarrying for stone.
Our climb into the burial chamber was quite an adventure. First some 50 metres down a steeply sloping, badly lit corridor to a small chamber at the bottom. Then a steep climb up a series of rickety ladders to get to the small burial chamber. It is certainly not the sort of thing that could be done with groups of more than about ten people. Chris struggled a bit going down the rickety ladders, but thought that the journey was worth the struggle
Click on any of the thumbnail photos for a larger version
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Back on our ship, we head for Cairo
Click on any of the thumbnail photos for a larger version
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