Ellen de Maré being carried on a litter, on the way to Memphis and Saqqara

GOING TO MEMPHIS AND SAQQARA

The first excursion during the voyage up the Nile went to Memphis and Saqqara.
“27th of Dec. At nine in the morning we went on board the Nile boat Columbia, which was moored by the hotel. The Count had hired the boat for the entire voyage on the Nile, from Cairo to Aswan.
We finally set off at ten, got settled on the boat and arrived at Al Badrashin.
Donkeys were waiting for us here and we rode through wonderful palm forests and sugar cane fields to the ruins of Memphis. The city, which was once the most famous and populous of all the world’s cities with immeasurable riches, is now a pile of ruins. From Memphis we rode on through the palm forests to arrive at the Colossus; a statue of Ramesses II, which once stood at the entrance to the temple. It is made of granite and now lies on a ridge with its face turned upwards. The statue is 10 m long, including a crown that lies behind its head. The entire body is covered in inscriptions of the king’s name. Once we had ridden through more palm forests, we arrived at the necropolis of Saqqara. We looked upon the necropolis and the pyramids with a great sense of awe and wonder, and the Apis bull tombs were also wonderful. We only returned to the boat in the evening, once it had become dark. Cedercrantz was with us on this excursion, but returned to Cairo by train that same night from a nearby railway station.