Dashur is fairly hard to get to, and surprisingly few tourists venture here. As a mater of fact, we were the only non-Egyptians at the site the entire time we were there. Most tourists visit the Step Pyramid at south Saqqara and never work their way south to this necropolis.

The pyramids in Dashur are, in their own way, even more spectacular than the famous pyramids at Giza. They represent a significant step in pyramid development — the steps between the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser and the classical shape of the Great Pyramid at Giza. From the evidence here, it took a few tries to get it right!

There are two groups of pyramids here — Old Kingdom on New Kingdom. The Old Kingdom pyramids, built by Sneferu (The Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid) are the predecessors of the Giza Pyramids. The eastern group (including The Black Pyramid) are from the Middle Kingdom and show the decline of the pyramid builders. Chronologically, they come after Saqqara and Maidum and before Giza and Abu Sir.

Sneferu, the first pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, moved the royal necropolis here from Saqqara, where the previous dynasties had created their monuments. It wasn’t quite a direct move, though, as the pyramid at Maidum, also attributed to Sneferu, was attempted first.

It is thought that Sneferu built the two large pyramids here, in addition to the pyramid at Maidum, the only pharaoh to build three pyramids. In order to build three pyramids in approximately 24 years of ruling, nearly nine million tons of stone (West) would have been quarried, cut, transported, and placed.

You can get to Dashur by taxi or microbus, or on tours from the hotels in Cairo. The nearest public transport is almost 10km away, which probably explains the lack of casual tourists.