Egypt Travel Photos: Memphis

Ancient Memphis was the homeland of creator God Ptah, God of the arts, architecture and crafts. The UNESO world heritage site is the first Egyptian capital in history. Today above the ancient memphis lies the modern town of Mit Rahina, that’s famous for its beautiful palm trees.

Excavations are still on-going at Memphis as the city has influenced Egypt so much and there are still so many more secrets to be revealed.

Before my trip to Egypt, the Sphinx at Giza Pyramids was the only one I was eyeing for. But after I came to Egypt, Sphinxes can be seen quite regularly, especially around ancient temples and tombs. Sphinxes are often guards and protectors of Egypt ancient sacred places. The Memphis Sphinx (c.1550 – 1669 BC ) was unearthed in 1912 at the exact same spot we see it today. It’s one the the largest monuments ever made by Egyptian alabaster.

Ramesses II is regarded one of the greatest and most powerful pharaohs in Egyptian history. The colossal statue of Ramesses II dates back 3,200 years, and was originally discovered face down in marshy ground near the Great Ptah Temple in Memphis.

It took several attempts by various people to extract and turn over the colossus. it wasn’t until 1887, a British engineer who succeeded in raising the colossus and moving it to its current location. To do this, he used a system of pulleys and levers.

During his remarkable around 66 years of reigns, he bought many wars and built cities, temples and monuments extensively all over Egypt.

The great Abu Simbel Temples in Aswan are two massive rock temple built by Ramesses II for himself and his wife. It was also so incredible to see Ramesses II’s mummy in the Egyptian Museum. I can never forget the sight of the prominent bridge on his huge aquiline nose.

The Great Ptah Temple in Memphis built by Ramesses II: