Ask anyone, even your toddler to describe a pyramid and they will say it’s a big, straight, pointy 3D triangle. Tourists will now be able to enter the Bent Pyramid in Dahshur.
Having been off limits since 1965, Dahshur’s Bent Pyramid is being reopened to the public, along with a host of Egyptian artefacts.
Dahshur, located south of Cairo, stands as a destination to satisfy all your Egyptian thirsts but without the major business of Cairo and its overwhelming notoriety.
It has always been a bit overshadowed by Giza of course, where the world wonder that is the Great Pyramid of Giza stands. It is hoped by reopening this Bent Pyramid, tourism will boom in this small area of Egypt.
The Bent Pyramid was built for a pharaoh named Snefru in around 2,600 BC. It was envisioned by Snefru to be a ‘true’ pyramid thanks to its steep 54-degree angle.
As you might expect, in the times before whacky buildings, this pyramid was not intended to be or initially named the Bent Pyramid.
The pyramid was being built on soft clay – and there was a problem with stability and subsidence. This was solved by adjusting the angle to a flatter 43 degrees, 147ft (45m) up the face. This means that the pyramid is sunken slightly, creating a bent look.
It may not be as famous as Giza, though it is certainly a unique pyramid, proof of the endurance of Egyptian architecture, even if something goes wrong.
Visitors can even enter the structure down a 79m narrow tunnel, gaining access to two chambers deep inside.
Archaeologists have also presented mummies, masks and tools discovered during excavations works near the Dahshur pyramids.
