Here, near the old city of Memphis, you get a view of Egypt of the present and the Egypt of the past. In the foreground is a native nobleman, out for a pleasure ride. With him is his attendant. In the background is one of the oldest stone buildings in Egypt. This building as you see is a pyramid built in steps. It is called the Step Pyramid. It was built by King Zoser nearly 5,000 years ago. It is made up of six steps, which you can make out easily in the picture. The steps range from 29 to 37 feet in height, so that the top is 200 feet above the desert. The Step Pyramid is one of the landmarks of the country. The nobleman you see is called a "bey" (b). The beys were formerly rulers of Egyptian states or provinces. But now the name is given to any man of noble birth. His dress shows you the kind of clothes the better class of Egyptians wear. His steed is the common one used up and down the Nile. On the desert the camel is the beast of burden. Study the view for a notion of the way Egypt looks. Observe also the giant date palm trees. Tell all you can find out about the use of these trees to the people of Egypt. Keystone ID: 9771 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.