Ancient site · Giza
Dahshur
A quiet desert necropolis south of Cairo, where King Sneferu's Bent and Red Pyramids show how Egypt's builders learned to build a true pyramid.
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The story
Dahshur sits on the desert plateau west of the Nile, about 40 km south of Cairo, at the southern end of the Memphis necropolis that UNESCO inscribed in 1979 as 'Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur'. Around 2600 BC Sneferu, founder of the Fourth Dynasty, chose it for two pyramids: the Bent Pyramid, whose angle changes partway up, and the Red Pyramid, regarded as Egypt's first successful true smooth-sided pyramid. Middle Kingdom kings built here later too, including Amenemhat III's Black Pyramid, now a ruin. Today the Bent and Red Pyramids can be visited, in a setting much quieter than Giza.
Good to know
- The Bent Pyramid rises at 54 degrees, then eases to 43 degrees at about 47 m up, which is how it got its name.
- The Bent Pyramid still keeps much of its original polished limestone casing, which is rare among Egypt's pyramids.
- The Red Pyramid is Egypt's third-largest pyramid, after those of Khufu and Khafre, at roughly 105 m high.
- The Bent Pyramid was closed to visitors from about 1965 and reopened in July 2019 after restoration.
- Sneferu was the father of Khufu, and the trial and error at Dahshur paved the way for Giza's Great Pyramid.
Visiting tips
Per the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities site, Dahshur is open daily 8 am to 5 pm, with separate foreign and Egyptian ticket rates. Hours (especially in Ramadan) and prices can change, so check before visiting.