The ancient city of Elephantine was located on an island in the middle of the Nile River. It was situated right at the border between Egypt and Nubia and so was an important center of trade, as well as a notable Egyptian military fortification.

Memphis was the capital city of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Memphis was founded, according to classical era historians, by the original Pharaoh Menes. Menes is generally credited with uniting Lower and Upper Egypt and forming the first Egyptian ruling dynasty.

The Great Sphinx can be found in close proximity to the Pyramids of Giza. Much of our understanding of the Sphinx is surrounded in myth and legend, but it is generally believed to have been built during the Old Kingdom, as part of the mortuary complex of a powerful Pharaoh (Khafre, Khufu, and Sneferu are most often claimed to have been associated with the construction of the Sphinx).

The second Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, Sneferu's son Khufu, built the Great Pyramid of Giza as his tomb. The Fourth Dynasty featured the prolific building of pyramids and other grand monuments, as Sneferu was responsible for the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, both at Dahshur. The Giza Sphinx is traditionally believed to have been built by Khafra, though some alternatively hold that it was constructed by his brother Djedefra (while there are also separate pyramids for both pharaohs), and Shepseskaf's tomb is the Mastabat al-Fir'aun at Saqqara.

Hermopolis is the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian city of Khmun (although it is much more common, even in the exclusive study of Egyptian history, to use the Greek name). Hermopolis was also the origin of the Ogdoad theory of creation and the associated eight Gods of creation. As a result, Hermopolis was often called “eight-town” during the Old Kingdom period.

Throughout ancient Egyptian history, powerful or wealthy rulers (and often upper class elites and government officials) were buried in elaborate monuments, like the Pyramids of Giza or the Valley of Kings. During the Old Kingdom, many rulers were buried at sites along the westbank of the Nile near the capital city of Memphis. Such necropolis sites include Saqqara, Abusir, Giza, Meidum, Dahshur, and Abu Rawash. Faiyum, however, is the name of an oasis located further to the south and was only used as the site of a necropolis beginning in the Middle Kingdom.

Abusir and Saqqara are both necropolises. They were both used during the Old Kingdom period by the rulers of Memphis for their interment. Notable pyramids can be found at both locations and they are two of the most important modern archaeological sites for informing our understanding of Egyptian history.

Due to a widespread lack of wood, Ancient Egyptian engineers and architects primarily relied upon stone and brick as their main building materials. Bricks were formed out of the Nile River’s fertile mud and then left to bake beneath the sun until they had been scorched hard and solid under its fiery rays. As for stone, multiple varieties were quarried and utilized; granite, limestone, and sandstone were the most abundantly favored. Generally speaking, stone was mainly used in the construction of pyramids, temples, tombs, and sculptures, while bricks were used much more ubiquitously, to build everything from temple walls, palaces, and civic complexes.

Most archaeologists estimate the population of ancient Egypt during the height of the Old Kingdom (during the fourth and fifth dynasties) to have been around two million.

Contrary to popular belief, the Nile actually flows from south to north rather than from north to south. It is one of the only rivers in the world to do this. This is because the water begins in the "Upper" region, in the higher lands, and distributes out into the ocean at "Lower Egypt" through tributaries and deltas.