Faiyum

Geography

Faiyum is a city in Mid Northern Egypt, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Cairo. It is located in the Faiyum Oasis and is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate.

History

Because of its important position, Faiyum is one of Egypt's oldest cities. People have lived there for a very long time, making it a place of great historical interest.

Name and etymology

The city was first built by ancient Egyptians and called Shedet. Today, it is known as Faiyum, Fayum, or al-Faiyūm. Sometimes it was called Madīnat al-Faiyūm, which means "The City of Faiyum" in Arabic.

The name Faiyum comes from an old language called Coptic. It means "the Sea" or "the Lake," referring to a big lake nearby called Lake Moeris. An ancient elephant ancestor called Phiomia was also named after this lake.

Ancient history

Main article: Fayum mummy portraits

Main article: Zenon of Kaunos

People have lived around Faiyum since very old times, called the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic periods. Important digs have happened on the north shore of Lake Moeris.

The city started around the fifth millennium BC and was named Shedet during the Old Kingdom. It became a key place for worshipping the crocodile god Sobek. Greeks later called it "Crocodile City" or Krokodeilópolis.

During the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the city changed its name many times and was finally called Arsinoë. A new town named Philadelphia was built nearby, looking like a typical Greek city.

Under the Roman Empire, Arsinoë became part of a place called Arcadia Aegypti. When Christianity arrived, the city grew as a religious center.

Faiyum is well-known for its special painted mummy portraits from Roman times. These portraits show the faces of people buried there and mix Egyptian and Greek styles.

The building of Philadelphia was written about by a man named Zeno, who made many papers about daily life and business in the city. These papers, called the Zenon Papyri, help us learn about life in the third century BC.

Modern city

Faiyum is a lively city with many markets, mosques, and baths. A canal called the Bahr Yussef runs through the city, and houses line its banks. There are two bridges over the canal—one for the main street and bazaar, and another that holds the Qaitbay mosque. North of the city are mounds where ancient people once lived. In the center of the city, you can find four waterwheels, which are a symbol of the area. The city is also home to a football club called Misr Lel Makkasa SC, which plays in the Egyptian Second Division.

Main sights

• The Hanging Mosque, built a long time ago by prince Marawan bin Hatem
• Hawara, an old place of interest 27 km (17 mi) from the city
• Lahun Pyramids, just 4 km (2 mi) outside the city
• Qaitbay Mosque, located in the city; built by the wife of the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay
• Qasr Qarun, 44 km (27 mi) from the city
• Wadi Elrayan or Wadi Rayan, the largest waterfalls in Egypt, around 50 km (31 mi) from the city
• Wadi Al-Hitan or Valley of whales, an important paleontological site in the Faiyum Governorate, about 150 km (93 mi) southwest of Cairo. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Climate

The climate in Faiyum is very hot and dry, like a desert.

The hottest temperature ever recorded there was 46 °C (115 °F) on June 13, 1965. The coldest was 2 °C (36 °F) on January 8, 1966.

Notable people

People from Faiyum may be called al-Fayyumi. Some well-known people from this area include Tefta Tashko-Koço, a famous Albanian singer, and Youssef Wahbi, an important Egyptian actor who helped shape Egyptian cinema and theater.

Other important people are Mohamed Ihab, Egypt's most decorated weightlifter and a World Champion, and Mariam Fakhr Eddine, an Egyptian actress known as "The Screen Beauty" for her looks, who appeared in many films. Also from Faiyum was Pope John XVIII of Alexandria, who served as Pope from 1769 to 1796, and several talented football players like Magdy Atwa and Sayed Moawad.