Memphis of the White Walls By Marie Parsons The city of Memphis
was the royal residence and capital of Egypt during the Early
Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom, and remained thereafter one
of the most populous and renowned places of Egypt. Its temples,
especially one to Ptah, were among the most important in the
land. Memphis sat at the confluence of the important trade
routes across the Eastern and Western deserts and commanded the
Delta. It lies in narrow stretch of the Nile Valley on the west
bank of the river. One cannot help but wonder how it would have
survived the ages if it had been built higher, where wind and
sand would encroach rather than changing riverbeds or rising
water tables. Memphis was the name given later in the life of
the capital. It began as inbw-hdj, or "white walls," perhaps
reflecting the appearance of its fortified residence, which was
actually a portion of its area, probably situated somewhere near
the modern town of Abusir, in the valley to the east of the
northernmost section o