Heliopolis: Sun Cult of Ra

Dr. Swanson took our class on a field trip to Heliopolis (I loved studying in Egypt, we got to go on the coolest field trips).  Heliopolis is the site of the sun cult of Ra and was once the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian Nome.  The site has been occupied since the Pre-Dynastic Period.  Sadly, most of what had once been there no longer exists, its temples and other buildings were used for the construction of medieval Cairo so most of what archaeologists know about the site comes from textual sources and very early explorers.  The Egyptian Pyramids all were constructed to align with Heliopolis.  What is left today at Heliopolis is one, lone perfectly preserved Middle Kingdom obelisk of Senusert I.  On the plus side, it looks practically brand new.