Location:

EL Fayoum is the largest oasis in Egypt , situated 90 km south- west of Cairo , 75 km from Giza Pyramids . Fayoum in the old ages was the county number 21 among the Egyptian counties. Fayoum consider one of the governorates of North Upper Egypt region.

In the past Fayoum was called ( Mr- Wr) means the great sea, after that called Sdt Sdt. In the Greek age it was called Crocoddilipolis because of the presence of a crocodile called ( sobak) , then it is called “Baym” which means sea or lake. Finally, after the Arab conquest, it got the name ( EL Fayoum).

EL Fayoum is situated in a natural depression in the desert, linked to the River Nile by a branch called “Bahr Yosuf”.

What to see in Fayoum?

Fayoum is characterized by water wheels which make El Fayoum different from any other governorate. There are about 200 of water wheels which are used to draw underground water and irrigate agricultural lands. Fayoum has a huge salt water lake, called in the past, Lake Mories. Today it is called “ Lake Qarun ”. Wadi El Rayyan in the south of Fayoum in which the irrigation water from all the farms regulate and end. Ein Selleen is a small village has beautiful sceneries, lush greenery and thermal waters . Fayoum contains a lot of archaeological sites such as Hawara Pyramid which is considered one of the most important sites in Fayoum , built by the XII Dynasty king Amenhotep III in the middle kingdom . Illahoon village is where the pyramids of Senousert II , one of the kings of the XII th Dynasty, is situated. Qasr el-Sagha Temple, Madinet Madi, Qasr Qarun, Kom El Atl and the large Roman Bath at Kom Aushim are the most distinguished spots in El Fayoum.

Fayoum has a special quota in the different kinds of tourism such as safari, culture and environmental tourism.Fayoum also plays a very important role in geological tourism because of a rich area of fossils located in the Western Desert . This area contains shells of various sizes, skeletons of whales, sharks, crocodiles, giant turtles and large horned mammals.