{"id":39397,"date":"2017-01-25T17:04:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T00:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=39397"},"modified":"2017-01-25T17:04:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T00:04:50","slug":"step-pyramid-saqqara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/01\/step-pyramid-saqqara.html","title":{"rendered":"“The Step Pyramid at Saqqara”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\"The<\/a>
The most famous pyramids in Egypt are, of course, those in Giza, to the north of Saqqara. But there are also very large pyramids to the south. On the left, in this view from Saqqara of the complex at Dahshur, is the so-called \u201cBent Pyramid.\u201d On the right is the \u201cRed Pyramid.\u201d And the small structure in front of the \u201cBent Pyramid\u201d is the pyramid of Pepi II. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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One of the places we\u2019ll visit on our Egypt tour in May<\/a> \u2014 and one of my favorite places in Egypt altogether \u2014 is the pyramid complex at Saqqara, to the south of Cairo and of the more famous pyramid complex at Giza.<\/p>\n

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I love Saqqara\u00a0for many reasons. \u00a0One of them has nothing to do with the pyramids there at all: \u00a0It\u2019s about as clear a place as I know for tourists to see the stark difference between the lush green of the Nile Valley, on the one hand, and, on the other, the Sahara Desert that stretches from the western edge of that valley all the way, essentially, to the Atlantic Ocean. \u00a0The vegetation doesn\u2019t gradually taper off at Saqqara. \u00a0It ends abruptly. \u00a0Palm trees and grass suddenly become sand. \u00a0The contrast beautifully illustrates Herodotus\u2019s famous declaration that \u201cEgypt is the gift of the Nile.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a nice little item<\/a>\u00a0that you might enjoy about Saqqara:<\/p>\n

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Step Pyramid at Saqqara<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n