El Fayum
is one of the governorates in the north-west of
Egypt
about 100km from Cairo . El Fayum is renowned for its fertile land , fascinating tourist attractions that date back to ancient Egyptian time and its great history .
The name of "El Fayum" comes from the Coptic word 'Phiom' , which means lake or sea since it was enclosing a sea in the Prehistoric period .
Ptolemy II
(Philadelophos) gave
El Fayoum
the name 'Philadelphia' . El Fauoum is also renowned for its Fayimian and Meorian Cultures that date back to the 5500 to 4000 BC . People of these cultures were sedentary and knew methods of agriculture and pottery making . With the climatic changes , around 4000 BC people began to abandon Fayoum and migrate to the Nile Valley , getting in contact with the people of
Maadi
Culture . However , El Fayoum remained a savage site for hunting and extracting mining salts . Thus , the Ancient Egyptians identified the lake of El Fayoum with some appropriate names , such as 'the Nun' or the Primeval Ocean , where life began . El Fayoum was the cult of Sobek god , the crocodile , and the
lake of El Fayoum was regarded as a sacred place In the
Old Kingdom
and some temples were established for worshiping him .
In the
Middle Kingdom
the region of El Fayoum witnessed a great prosperity and a large number of temples were established . King Amen-Em-Hat (of the Twelfth Dynasty) chose the site of Lisht , on the midway between the Nile Valley and Fayoum , to be his residence . Amen-Em-Hat I built his pyramid there and it is thought also that he flooded Fayoum to create the Lake Moeris . During this dynasty , the whole region witnessed a wide scale development .
El Lahun
Pyramid , the colossi of Biahmu , the
Labyrinth
Pyramid all belong to this period .
During the Greek Period , the region prospered once again and hundreds of papyri found in different cemeteries of Fayoum provide much information on the booming life the Fayoumians led . But once the region began to decline by the 2nd century , it was gradually abandoned .
There are other monuments in El Fayoum including the famous for Karoun Lake and the Valley of Whales , with more than 500 skeletons of whales that are most popular tourist attractions in Egypt . Immersing in a plane
view of the scene of the desert , one enjoys seeing a number of valleys , which once were rivers and lakes . In old times , people used to dwell there more than in the Nile Valley .
In addition to Lakes , tourist attractions El Fayum has become one of the major agricultural lands in Egypt that is rich in is regarded thanks to the improvement of communicational means , irrigation methods and investment in diverse crops .
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