A trip to Saqqara necropolis is an essential port of call if you want to understand the history of Ancient Egypt. The vast site is home to monuments covering a period of more than 40 centuries; reaching over 8km from north to south at the heart of a desert plateau, it is located near Memphis, which was for a long time the most important city in Egypt. As well as the Djeser Funerary Complex, dominated by the famous Step Pyramid of Imhotep, it encompasses a series of mastabas decorated with superb low reliefs.