Al Fayoum History

• 16 / 5 / 2023

History of Fayoum

The governorate is the largest natural oasis in Egypt, representing a deep depression in the limestone plateau of the Western Desert, surrounded by desert on every side except the southeast, where it is connected to Beni Suef governorate, and follows the North Upper Egypt region, 92 km southwest of Cairo governorate. The total area of the governorate is 6068.70 km², and its land meets lakes, springs, greenery, and desert to represent a diverse natural picture in addition to its mild climate throughout the year. The land of Fayoum is not flat but gradually slopes down from south to north.

During the Pharaonic era, Fayoum was part of the twentieth province of Upper Egypt, whose capital was Ehnasia, one of the centers of Beni Suef governorate today. It was considered a fishing center centered around Lake Maurice Lake Qarun today and was considered a fishing center. With the entry of the Ptolemaic era, the city of Kranis, located north of the current town of Fayoum and east of Lake Qarun, continued to flourish until the Roman era and then deteriorated at the end of the third century AD and the beginning of the fourth century. The reason behind its establishment was to settle Greek immigrants, and it was an agricultural area from the Ptolemaic era until the Roman era. Historians differ about the date of the campaign sent by Amr ibn al-Aas to conquer the Fayoum region. Some of them believe that he sent a squad to attack Fayoum in June 640 during his siege of the Babylonian fortress, while the other team believes that the Muslims did not hear about Fayoum until a year after they entered Egypt and after the fall of the Babylonian fortress, until some Egyptians guided them to it. During the modern era, the people of Fayoum participated in standing against the English occupation during the 1919 revolution led by Hamad Pasha al-Basil, and the day of their revolution on March 15 was considered a national holiday for the governorate.

Wadi al-Rayan Reserve

Wadi Al-Rayyan specializes in its integrated desert environment with its dunes, natural springs, different plant life, and various animals, as well as marine fossils, and the waterfalls area is considered one of the areas of various marine sports. The reserve has 15 species of wild animals, the most important of which are white deer, Egyptian deer, fennec fox, sand fox, and wolf, and there are several species of falcons.

Whale Valley Reserve

It is an area for fossils in the northwest of Wadi Al-Rayyan Reserve that is about 4 million years old. These fossils are fossilized structures of primitive whales, shark teeth, shells, and other marine animals that are considered an open museum, and there is a fossilized shura plant inside soft rocks.

The fossils proved that the whales were in the last stage of evolution before they changed their limbs to be able to live in the oceans. UNESCO said that the area contains large numbers of whale fossils and is unique in the degree of quality that makes it unique.

Lake Qarun Reserve

Located in the northwestern part of the Wadi al-Rayyan depression, Lake Qarun is one of the oldest natural lakes in the world and is the remnant of the ancient Lake Maurice, with an area of about 55,000 acres.

There are some scientifically and historically important geological formations in the northeast of the lake, as well as some water marshes that contain diverse plant communities, and many migratory and winter resident birds migrate to the lake.

Huwara pyramid

It is one of the ancient Egyptian pyramids. It is located in the village of Hawara, 9 km southeast of the city of Fayoum, from where it took its name. The pyramid was built from mud bricks and then covered with limestone on the outside. Its height is 58 meters, and the length of each side is 100 meters. In 1889, the English scientist Flinders Petrie succeeded in entering the pyramid and reaching the burial chamber, which consists of one huge block of quartzite stone that weighs up to 110 tons and has no door.

Pyramid of Lahun

It was built by King Senosert II of the Twelfth Dynasty and is 22 km from Fayoum. It was built of adobe bricks and was covered with limestone, 48 meters high and 106 meters long at its base. Its entrance is located on the south side and was built on a 12-meter-high hill.