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The Dahshur pyramids are about 15 km further south of Saqqara, making them the most remote of those in the Cairo area. The pyramids here - the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid - are more interesting and spectacular in appearance than the pyramids of Saqqara. However, beyond these two pyramids, there isn't much else to see.

The Bent Pyramid is named from its unusual shape - the angle of the sides was changed roughly half way through construction, giving its sides two distinctive angles toward the peak. Consensus of opinion is that the change in course of construction was made because cracks appeared in the base. Completing the pyramid at its original steep angle would not have been possible because the pyramid's base simple would not have been able to support the weight. A competing theory holds that the change was made because the ultimate height of the pyramid would've required too great an effort. The other unique aspect of the Bent Pyramid is that much of its limestone casing is still intact - the only pyramid for which this is so.

The Red Pyramid got its name from the color of stone used in its construction. This pyramid is open for entering, but aside from the interesting corbelled ceiling in one of its chambers, there's not much to see inside. The low ceiling and steep shaft make visiting the interior a challenge for some people.

This is the Red Pyramid of Dahshur. It's name comes from the pink granite used in its construction.

The Red Pyramid is the second largest in Egypt, having a footprint just under the 13 acres of Cheops. However, its height is much shorter with its sides inclining at the less steep angle of only 43 degrees.

This shot of the Red Pyramid shows the entrance. Once inside, it's a steep decline into the interior chambers.

The inside chamber is not so interesting, but if you're wondering, this is how it looks. The corbelled ceiling looks sturdy enough. Good thing, there are hundreds of millions of tons of stone above.

The other interesting pyramid at Dahshur is the Bent Pyramid. This pyramid is somewhat unique among the pyramids for a couple of reasons. First, it still has much of the limestone facing originally placed on the pyramids' sides. As its name implies, this pyramid is also unique because of the two distinct slopes used in constructing its sides. The consensus opinion is that construction plans were altered after cracks in the base began to appear when construction reached a height of something just under half its final current height. The first fix was to reinforce the sides by adding stones at the base and decreasing the angle of the side. When this didn't fix the problem, construction proceeded at an even less steep slope, giving two distinctive angles to each side. A secondary theory holds that it was decided midway through construction that the originally planned steep angle of the sides would require too much labor and resources to complete, so plans were altered and the pyramid finished with a less steep angle.

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