Memphis Open Air Museum
منف
An open-air museum in the village of Mit Rahina, on the site of ancient Egypt's capital Memphis, displaying a 10-metre-long reclining statue of Ramesses II and an alabaster sphinx.
Memphis was the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Together with the pyramid necropolis stretching from Giza to Dahshur, it is listed as the 'Memphis and its Necropolis' World Heritage Site. Most of the remains today lie buried beneath the village and palm groves. The open-air museum is modest in scale, and its star is a limestone colossus of Ramesses II, originally about 13 m tall, lying in a purpose-built shelter that can be viewed from an upper level. The courtyard also holds an alabaster sphinx weighing about 80 tonnes, along with various stone sculptures. Admission is about EGP 200–300, and it is open roughly 08:00–17:00. Allow 45 minutes. It is usually combined with Saqqara and Dahshur as a one-day private car tour, about 1 hour from Cairo.
Opening hours
About 08:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- Saqqara / Pyramid of Djoser
- Dahshur
- Coptic Cairo / Hanging Church
- National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
- Mosque of Amr ibn al-As
- Giza Pyramids & Great Sphinx
- Gayer-Anderson Museum
- Mosque of Ibn Tulun