We will most likely be arriving at the Cairo hotel meeting point on Friday, Sept. 28 at around 3:00 p.m.
Can someone from Imtrav let us know when exactly will the 'guided excursion to Memphis & Saqqara' be available during the tour?
Would it be preferable to do it before the tour begins, or during the tour as an 'optional excursion'?
If we decide to do it before the tour begins, can you provide us with the details and contact information ahead.
Thx.
Harold and Marta,
Toronto, Canada
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
which tour are u going on?
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello Nathan,
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello Nathan,
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello Nathan,
We are on the JOE (Jewels of Egypt)ETJW Imtrav tour starting in Cairo, Sept.30,2007.
Thx.
Harold and Marta
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
I would be interested in an answer to this question as well. Since it's out of Cairo, it looks like it would either have to be a pre-tour or post-tour excursion. We're on a different departure (Oct. 28).
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello All
Thank you for your postings regarding Memphis and Saqqara - both these sites are definitely well worth a visit while you are in Cairo.
If you want to do this pre-tour you can actually arrange this in advance through us or your agent, if you have booked through a travel agent. Please contact your agent directly for prices and details in your currency.
If you'd like to go ahead please let your agent know and we can arrange it before you travel.
If you would like to do it post-tour you can either book in advance (as above) or speak to your tour leader on arrival about arranging this.
I hope this helps!
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Question:
We've signed up for the 10/28 departure of Jewels of Egypt. We've also signed up for the Backstreet Tour two nights beforehand, with its special Cairo tour. Would that tour be on 10/27 or 10/28? It affects what day we could sign up for Memphis/Saqqara.
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello Warren
Thank you for your post.
The actual city tour for your Backstreet Break would be on the 27th October. I hope this helps you plan for your other time. There is certainly no shortage of great excursions and activites in and around Cairo!
Best Regards,
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Going back to the original subject of the thread:
Are the step pyramids visited on this tour easier to negotiate (on the inside) than the ones at Giza? I'm asking because, while I would really like to go inside the ones at Giza, I'm not sure it would be a good idea for us physically. So if the ones on this tour were more user-friendly in that regard, it would be an incentive to take the tour. And the reason I am hesitant to just wait until we get there to decide that is that we could take that tour on Oct. 28, before our tour actually begins. (We could, of course, also do so after the tour, if we booked an extra night in Cairo. And that decision could be made later.)
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello Warren,
As far as I know the Pyramids are not open to the public internally, only the exterior. But of course I could be wrong about this, does anyone else have any info on this??
I think that all the Pyramids are fairly difficult to access. The Pyramid out at Dashur has a steep climb up the exterior & then a steep climb down into the interior. You also have to crawl down a short passage & then climb some timber steps.
I last went into the interior of the Pyramid at Dashur in March '99, but I doubt that this has changed much in that time. If I was going to go into a Pyramid again this would be the one as you dont have as many people trying to climb in & out at the same time.....or you didnt back then........it was just myself & my companion!
Yes it is a tight fit, but if you are in reasonably fit condition yourself & dont have any problems with tight spaces, then you should be OK.
Hope this hasn't put you off!! All the best........Debbie
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Most of the guide books and videos I've looked at have mentioned (or shown) going inside the pyramids at Giza. The videos might be a bit dated (the original material might be anyway). I had thought that going inside them was one of the options available through ImTrav, but right now, I can't find where it is. It's funny how a memory can be both sieve-like and creative simultaneously.
I assume the pyramid (the red pyramid) you mention is part of the Memphis/Saqqara excursion? I was thinking of the step pyramid at Saqqara, but it's nice knowing more about either one. I'm not claustrophobic, just big, not in the best of shape for extreme climbing, fitting into small spaces, crawling, or stooping. I don't have knee problems now, but they could easily be re-aggravated by too much of the wrong kind of activity. A long passageway that I would have to crawl through or walk through stooped over would fall into that category. A lot depends on how pressured I am for time; my previous knee injuries were achieved running down the Potemkin steps to catch a cruise ship (I had no problem on the way up, because we were able to go at our own pace and rest if needed).
So the fact that a pyramid isn't crowded might make a difference.
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
You can go into the Giza ones - the largest one has limited numbers, but the second one you can go through easily.
You can go into the red pyramid - though I didn't - and you can also go into the collasped pyramid. There is a good smaller pyramid at the place with all the mastabas (name???) that is free to get into and is totally uncrowded but enough to let you see what it is like.
PS. Mastabas ROCK!!!
T
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hello Warren,
Please excuse my typo....it should have read "the Step Pyramid interior is not open to the public".
To the best of my knowledge the only pyramids open for the public to enter are at Giza (usually 2 are open, however the Great Pyramid only always a certain number a day, Dashur ( the Red Pyramid) & Meidum. Meidum is further out than Dashur & is just so amazing due to it's remote location. I cant remember any others being open, but of cause this is only from memory, so I could be very wrong!!
Whichever pyramid you decide to enter, you will certainly have to stoop when you descend/ascend. Having said that I am not all that fit myself, am not all that small either, have a knee problem (& have had recent surgery, not that good in confined spaces & am an asthmatic...........& I managed OK, so it can be done.
All the best with your plans...........Debbie
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Thanks. From the answers, I get the impression that the Memphis/Saqqara decision is one we ought to make based on factors other than the relative ease of going inside pyramids.
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Memphis, Saqqara and Madium are wonderful and very much worth the day trip out there. I hired a taxi for the day and went back to Saqqara as I didn't feel we had enough time there - sure we saw the Step but there is SO much more to do there. Mind you the taxi driver thought I was nuts for wanting to go into every bloody tomb, but hey - I had a great time.
Re: Excursion to Memphis and Saqqara?
Hi Warren,
Just returned from Egypt & Jordan Caravan.
If you want to go inside a pyramid, I recommend The Red Pyramid at Dashur, as I went there with 3 other people and we were the only ones there! The Pyramids at Giza were chock a block with tourists, even if you are there early.
One thing about The Red Pyramid, it's a steep climb up, asecending to get to the entrance then a steep and narrow climb down, but the group of people I was with aged between 21 to over 60, and yes she managed to get up and down into the pyramid.
Saqquara is definately a must as well, with the Step Pyramid. We went there on our free day, and still had time in the afternoon, as the sites open really early.