In your eyes, this city of the Old Kingdom is as it was then. In your heart it remains, the chaotic metropolis of old, welcoming, ancient and full of mystery. This city of Mennefer is sacred to its people who call it 'Inb-hd' - The White Wall, the name taken from the Pyramid of Pepy I.

Its people call their city by 'Hwt-ka-pth' - 'the house of the ka of Ptah.' During the Middle Kingdom, it was Ankh-Tawy, or "That Which Binds the Two Lands". Menfe in Coptic and Hellenized as Memphis, this name comes in distant times to describe the entire city, but in this time and place it is...Mennefer.

Your journey has transported you back through history and now you find yourself standing on the great paved concourse before the hulking magnificence of the temple of white Tura lime stone in the heart of the city.

This, the main temple of this city, is dedicated to the deity Ptah and, in this Old Kingdom city, the 'temple of the ka of Ptah' remains enigmatic.

Turning to the sound of low chanting, you spy a passing column of the priests of the Ptah. Aloof and stern, they pass and head into the heart the greatest temple in the city. It is tempting to follow and explore the mysteries of the god of artisans and craftsmen or should you turn toward the temple of Sekhmet, the fearsome lion-headed goddess who is consort of Ptah? Her centre of worship is here in Mennefer too as are the sacred dedications to the Apis bulls and the guardian Sokar, hawk god of the necropolis.

You smell a sweet fragrant perfume and, savouring it, turn away to follow the fragrance of aromatic balm, bark cinnamon, rare spices and your walk takes you through the bustling market which introduces you to the people of Mennefer. From them you learn this city was the royal residence and capital of Egypt during the Early Dynastic period and now, into the Old Kingdom, has remained one of the most populous and renowned places in Egypt.

Mennefer sits at the confluence of the important trade routes across the Eastern and Western deserts and commands the Delta. It lies in narrow stretch of the Nile Valley on the west bank of the river. A nobleman invites you to share persea wine and sitting by a reflection pool, you marvel at the beauty of a garden filled with sycamore figs, olives, acacia, doum, date palms, sidr, pomegranate, Assyrian plums and you learn in wonder of the necropolises and temples around Mennefer which cover the edge of the desert on the west bank of the river. The nobleman invokes places and names filled with history...the pyramids of Khufu, of Khafre and Menkaure; of Saqqara and Unas, of Djoser and Userkaf and Imhotep...and as you relax and gaze at the grandoise and awe-inspiring wonders about you, you realise that you have magically come home.

Featured Historical Character
Imhotep

Heri-tep a'a Asenath Amenhotep Notable Residents: Merit Sithahor Ronicus Lupus Neferure Ramesses