Walking In Memphis

Our last day in Egypt started with a trip to Memphis.  We rolled down to the open air museum of statues and blocks of rock with hieroglyphics.  A lot of archaeological work is on-going, with a lot more to be done.  

Memphis was the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom for eight consecutive dynasties (don't worry, I'm not going to write about the Old Kingdom, New Kingdom, and the various dynasties.  You don't care, and frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.).  

There's not a lot to see there yet -- come back in 200 years and there will be a lot more found.  Memphis is the site of many temples, most of which have barely been excavated.  

The highlight is the colossal sculpture of Ramesses II that is in a covered, but open air museum (the sides are not walled).  It's around 33 feet in length.  The statue was offered to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and later the British Museum, but both options were deemed not feasible because of the expense and trouble involved in transporting it.

Reunited and it feels so good -- Glen and

Carol with a giant Ramesses II statue again.

After that, we wandered around the outside museum, with Sam pointing out highlights before releasing us for free time.  Compared to a lot of places we've been in Egypt, it was somewhat desultory.  What's funny is that if this was the first place we visited, we'd be blown away.  Now I could name you many temples and tombs we've been to that are more stunning than Memphis.  Such are the vagaries of life,

A highlight came when two policemen waved us over.  I knew what they were doing, but we went along anyhow -- both of us posed on the bench they were sitting on, and then I slipped them each some baksheesh to pocket.  A regret I have on the trip is that I didn't keep track of the number of times I handed out cash; I felt like an NBA player at a strip club, except I was giving out ones instead of $100s.  

Editor: That analogy is oddly specific.  Writer: Google it, it was big news back in 2001 when the scandal broke.

The sphinx in Memphis is another highlight.

Foreshadowing. . .