"Memphis, capital of Ancient Egypt" Memphis by uglyscot

Memphis Travel Guide: 15 reviews and 86 photos

Where is the white walled city?

Memphis or Mit Riehena was for a long time the capital of Ancient Egypt, and called the White walled city. Nothing remains but a few statues, although the ancient city has probably been built over and been covered by the modern town.
In the museum there are several statues but most impressive is the enormous one of Rameses II, although his leg is badly damaged. Because he had so many wives and innumerable children, modern women treated him as a fertility symbol and used to visit the statue and lie on it in the hope that they would conceive. Now it is securely closed in a custom built building.

In the grounds are other objects, and a nice sphinx, vaguely reminiscent of Hatchepsut, made of calcite.
Unfortunately the picture was taken mid-day using poor quality film.

Memphis was the old capital of Egypt but now any remains must be under the present village. The village is called Mit Rihaina and is a few kilometers from Saqqarah when returning to Cairo.
It's a bit expensive to get in for all their is to see. The main attraction is the colossal statue of Ramses II [damaged] which lies in a specially constructed museum. See The Mighty Pharaoh travelogue.
Outside in the gardens are other statues and a sphinx, and other bits and pieces. Pleasant enough.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:the colossal statue of Ramses II
  • Cons:too little to see for the price of entry
  • Last visit to Memphis: Jan 2002
  • Intro Updated Jan 11, 2011
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uglyscot

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