Fayoum Oasis is the closest oasis to Cairo. It is famous for its beautiful landscapes, ancient Roman ruins, and Tire Fayoum. The Faiyum Oasis contains lagoon-like salt lakes, water wheels resembling wheels, and an endless desert. In the past few decades, the pyramids of Lahun and Khawara were built nearby. Now, day trips to the oasis can include stops at these locations.

The archaeological site of Kom-Oshima:

It takes about 25 kilometers to reach Faiyum, the country’s capital. There are many ruins of the old towns in the Fayoum Oasis, and those from the city that used to be called Karanis are the best and easiest to reach. These ruins are in the middle of the oasis, and the ruins of this city can be next to the Kom Unichem Museum.

 

Kom Oshima Museum:

The museum was built in 1974 on a small plot of 280 x 160 meters but now measures 850 x 350 meters. It faces the entrance to the ruins of Karanis, an ancient city where the Greeks and Romans lived. Below are the well-preserved artifacts found during excavations in the Fayoum Oasis. Although most of the treasures have been sent to the Greco-Roman museums in Cairo and Alexandria, there is still plenty to see here. The Faiyum Portrait Collection, also called burial masks, is one of the most exciting and well-known in the museum.

 

The city of Karanis and its Temple:

About three thousand people live in the border town of Karanis. He can see the layout of the streets and, in some cases, the walls of buildings that have not been wholly destroyed. Granite millstones and olive presses, which were expected, have been kept in the courtyards of houses, showing what life was like for their former owners.

The city’s main temple is located in the city’s geographical center. It is made of pre-cut limestone slabs and rests on a massive base of roughly cut stone. You can find these two fascinating places close to each other. A Greek inscription about the Roman Emperor Nero hangs above the building’s east wing entrance. The temple is in good condition, but archaeologists have been unable to find any other writings inside.

The temple was built to honor the god Sobek who was a crocodile. From the temple’s roof, the city’s devastation is beautifully visible. In the south, you can see the Fayoum Oasis Valley; in the north, you can see a second, smaller temple on a hill. You can find both in the north. Even on the walls of the Second Temple, there is nothing written.

 

Baths Karanis – ancient Roman bath:

During excavations at the site of Karanis, which is to the north of the settlement, a Greek-Roman bath was found. Inside the walls of the bathhouse are the changing room, sauna, hot tub, water tank, and sewage pit. You can also use the hot tub and sauna.

 

Kasr Karun Temple:

This Ptolemaic temple is located about 45 kilometers from Fayoum. It has been kept in good condition, and it would be a good use of time to go there. The Karuna Palace, a temple, was built in the Ptolemaic period, but we do not know the exact year because there is no inscription on it.

When you enter the temple for the first time, you will be surprised to see that the upper floor is an intricate maze of rooms, corridors, and corners of various sizes. You might think it wasn’t huge if you only looked outside the temple. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of the Greco-Roman city and the garrison of Dionysus near the temple. However, the mud bricks in the town are not as well preserved as those found at other ancient sites in Faiyum.

 

Madinat Madi:

The Twelfth Dynasty was led by Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV, who were responsible for building the temple of the city of Madi al-Hijri. People went to the temple to pay their respects to the crocodile god Sobek and the serpent goddess Rinnotta. The shrine is located in a beautiful valley, which is also its physical location. In front of the temple, you can see the remains of a corridor with sphinxes and lions.

Sphinxes, common monsters in ancient Greece, are responsible for the two strange females with wings in the alleys. The temple walls contain many bas-reliefs, some of which can still be seen today. All the reliefs along the procession route show the feet in complex ways. Inside the temple, there may be cartouches with hieroglyphs written by Amenemhat. Bases for many sculptures have been found, but only their intricately carved legs have been preserved.

The altar is located from the time of the Ptolemies in a smaller temple built on the grounds shortly after the main temple. Here you may find a beautiful statue of the god Sobek and some faded Greek writing. The remains of a Ptolemaic temple were found in 1990, and they were found near a temple in the Middle Kingdom. Even during the era of the Middle Kingdom, the temple of the Ptolemies existed.

In the years following the construction of this temple, many buildings were built in the area around it. Marble covers the walls, and peculiar stone coverings are found above the mud columns. Terracotta pillars are another thing that makes them stand out.

Faiyum’s seven Waterwheels:

Throughout the city, you can see the enormous black water wheels that represent the Fayoum Governorate. Behind the Governor’s Club is a place like this one called Bahr Seniors. Water tanks in Fayoum are interesting for more than just their apparent historical value. The Egyptian village of Basuniya lies about 21 miles (34 km) east of Faiyum, which contains what is likely the largest waterwheel in the country.

It stands out from the rest of its surroundings because it is over two tons heavy and eight stories tall.

It may be the well-known seven Fayoum waterwheels in Bahr Snorri, which are famous for the unique beauty they offer to visitors. A local urban legend says the county hides more than 200 waterwheels all over the land. The diameter of the water wheel is usually 4-5 meters, and the height of the water can reach a maximum of 3 meters. Water wheels move water from one place to another.

 

Wadi El Hitan – Valley of the Whales:

From here, it is about 171 kilometers from the city of 6 October and roughly 194 kilometers from Cairo. West of the Fayoum Oasis, you find the valley. The entire trip can take between three and a half hours. Wadi Khaitana, also known as Wadi al-Hitan, is located far from other historical sites in the oasis, so it must be seen separately. Whale Valley’s area got its name in 1902 when fossilized whale bones were found there.

Because of this discovery, the site is now called this. When UNESCO put the Khitan Valley on its list of World Heritage Sites in 2005, the rest of the world learned about it for the first time. Many people have gone to Wadi Khaitan since then. In 2016, a small creative museum on climate change moved to this land. In a small valley called Wadi Khitan, 400 fossils of two different species were found in Jordan.

These skeletons have been found in the form of fossils. In addition to the fossils of dugongs and sea urchins, these scientists found the remains of other marine creatures that became extinct long ago.

If you don’t have the time or energy to walk the three kilometers, which can take up to three hours, you can take a shorter route through the gallery. At regular intervals along the path, shaded stops benefit the environment. The sections are numbered 1 through 13, and the dashboards are well-made.

Dimeh al-Seeba and Qasr al-Sagha:

One of the most exciting things in Fayoum is to go to these two remote places on the north side of Berkat Karun. Even without the historical significance of the places, this trip is fun and unique as it passes through the desert and overlooks a lake.

Between Qasr El Sagha and Kom Oshima, there is about 30 km, and Dima another 9 km. Since 1992, people wishing to visit specific historical sites have had to obtain permission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities. On the western horizon, you can see the vast ruins of Dame Seeb.

It looks less like the remains of a town built by the Ptolemies in the middle of the Egyptian Empire and more like the remains of prehistoric stone fortifications in northern Europe. Qasr al-Sagha, or Qasr al-Sagha, is a small temple cleverly hidden about halfway up the cliff to the north, making it difficult to see from afar. This building is also called the Jewelers’ Palace.

 

Pyramid of Khawar:

It is believed that the city of Fayoum is about 12 kilometers from the place of the pyramid. Although it looked like a massive block of black mud brick had fallen, the pyramid had just been cleaned up and displayed. For this reason, it is now possible to go inside the pyramid and look at how it works in great detail. Looking at the pyramid from afar, it seems like a natural hill.

The cemetery’s tombs that wrap around the pyramid’s north side are located on its eastern side. Go to the pyramid’s east side to find this part of the cemetery. The pyramid was created to keep tomb robbers away by having an entrance on the south side rather than the north side, which is more common, and by having a complex system of passages inside. This makes it difficult for people to steal graves.

Archaeologists discovered two tombs inside the pyramid in the 19th century. Both Amenemhat III and his daughter Neferu-Coffins of Ptah were different.

 

Pyramid Lahun:

Some changes were made to the natural slope on which the pyramid was built, giving it a more distinctive character. Shortly after, the massive limestone walls that had enclosed the pyramid were built on top of it. These spacers are made of limestone. Clay bricks that were not baked were used to fill the gaps between the pyramid walls. These bricks were then used to build the pyramid to its final height.

Long after the bricks were taken off the outside of the pyramid, a layer of limestone was laid on top.

When Petrie reached the top of the pyramid in 1920, he found a burial chamber empty of artifacts except for a coffin made of stone, which was the norm at the time.

The golden uraeus, part of the royal crown, was found in the trash in one of the pyramid’s rooms, and this indicates that the pyramid was used to bury kings in the past.

In February 1914, a royal tomb was excavated south of the pyramid. Inside, items belonging to Princess Sat Hator Int were found. In addition, he came with a princess crown made of gold and feathers.

During his investigations, Petri found the city of Kahun built on top of a pyramid and a temple in a valley east of the pyramid.

Since the pyramid recently opened to the public, everyone must purchase a ticket.