Man, Monuments, Memphis

The city of Memphis is the next destination for my characters. In the time set for my story, the real Memphis was no longer occupied, however with the magic of fiction it comes to life. It is from this exotic city the characters sail from and head for Thebes.

Memphis, its Greek name, was the border between Upper and Lower Egypt. In the 18th Dynasty, the Old Kingdom, the city became the nation’s capital and primary residence for the kings. It was also the administrative and political centre of Lower and Middle Egypt. It was a powerhouse. It’s importance to the Ancient Egyptians was so great that in order to be accepted as King of Egypt, one had to be crowned in Memphis. Even the young Tutankhamun lived there. Given that his ‘father’ Akhenaten almost ruined Egypt in the years before when he ruled, the young king had to make amends.

Memphis, as we know it, was originally called ‘Ineb-Hedj’ meaning ‘The White Wall’ in the Old Kingdom; then in the Middle Kingdom ‘Ankh-Tawy’ meaning ‘That Which Binds Two Lands’; and today is known as ‘Mennufer’ the ‘good place’.

My characters set sail on a traditional Egyptian boat and like today, they had many for different purposes. The one I chose for my story was the sailboat, steered by two oars and had a square sail. Though I did embellish a little. Travelling on the Nile was the norm and mainly used for transportation, fishing and leisure activities. Some things never change. Check out Egypt Experience website.