After the Imhotep Museum it is on to the step-pyramid of Djoser (c.2668-2649 BCE) - the first great pyramid ever built and one of the earliest monumental stone structures on our planet. Wonder at the complex's various courts and subsidiary buildings, then on to view the nearby Pyramid of Unas (interior closed).

Still at Saqqarah we make our way to the Tomb of Mereruka (the largest non-royal Old Kingdom tomb in Egypt comprising some 32 rooms), and the nearby pyramid of Teti (interior open) with its fascinating pyramid texts.

We then visit the Tomb of Akhethotep & Ptahhotep from the 5th Dynasty period, and a take a short walk to the Mastaba of Ti and its famous wall-reliefs.

The Step Pyramid complex

Facts about the Step Pyramid of Djoser

The Step-pyramid of Djoser rises 60 m. in six steps from a base measuring 121 x 109m.

The pyramid contains some 330,400 cubic metres of stone and clay.

The pyramid is enclosed in a limestone wall 10.5 m. high and 1645 m. long, containing an area of some 15 ha.

The palace-facade recesses of the enclosing wall (there are 1680 of them) were carved by hand after the 'blank' walls were erected.

Underground tunnels and chambers stretch some 5.7 m. and are more than 30 m. below ground level.

Djoser's architect - Imhotep - appears to have used six different stages in the design of the complex. He was later regarded as a god and worshipped. His tomb, which must be at Saqqarah, has not been located.