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The
Fayyum Oasis lies in a depression, right in the Western Desert, about
103 km. southwest of Cairo.It is surrounded by high plateaus, and
separated from the Nile Valley by a high ridge to the east at al-Lahun.
Its water comes from the Nile river via Bahr Yussuf (Joseph's Canal),
which leaves the Ibrahaimeya Canal at Assyut.The oasis is famed for
its all-year-round pleasant climate and beautiful scenery. There is
evidence of pre-historic settlements as well as Pharonic, Greek, Roman,
Coptic, and Islamic monuments.In Pharaonic times, Fayyum was one of
the 20 nomes of Upper Egypt. Its capital was "Ihnisia,"
which after flourishing was renamed "Birsin" or "House
of the Crocodile," the sacred animal at that time.Fayyum boasts
a combination of rural, coastal, desert, and urban environments, and
thus holds out great attraction to tourists. The pharaohs called it
"Ayyum" (Lake), the Copts "Phiom" (Sea), and the
Arabs "Al-Fayyum," after adding the definite article "Al"
(the) to its name. |
