Check it out! They spend hundreds of years building this pyramid at a 55-degree angle. But when they got towards the top, it kept collapsing, so they decided to modify the design and change the slope of the pyramid to 43-degrees in order to complete it.
Back outside and here's a final picture of the pyramid! (I didn't take any pictures of the vaults inside because there wasn't very much light (duh!) and my flash would've alerted the "camera police" inside.)
Here's a picture of our descent into the burial chamber via a secret shaft that's hidden in the side of the pyramid! The shaftway is only 3' tall, 4' wide and goes down for over 200 feet at a 27-degree angle. I only took this one picture because it was such hard work hunching my way down the shaft in the crazy-heat!
Most people go to see the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo and don't come to Dashshur so there were hardly any other people there. And, you can actually CLIMB UP THE PYRAMID and then crawl down a tiny shaft into the burial chamber!
Obligatory shot of solo traveler in front of pyramid. Despite the fact that it was 110 F outside, wearing my BLACK HOODIE was preferable to exposing my skin to the mid-day Egyptian sun.
This is the back of Djoser's Step Pyramid. It's from 2630 BCE (4,640 years ago!!!) and is considered one of the oldest stone monuments in human history.
