|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Favorite Places in Fayoum
| Outside town at Ain Al-Siliyin, 9 km north towards Lake Qaroun, is a popular marvellous spot & park which has natural spring & streams, but it is overcrowded on Friday and holidays. Further north is Lake Qaroun that is a favorite beach resort. In winter, it is quite rough and teeming with ducks and geese, which brings the hunters to lakeside hotels. Qaroun means "Lake of the Horn" and it is possible to negotiate a price to get a row boat to the Golden Horn Island or to the north shore. |
|
||
| To the lake and 30 km from the city on the main road towards Cairo, Kome Aushim is site of the ancient city of Karanis. The results of excavations carried out in the 1920's by the University of Michigan are displayed, together with exhibits from other sites around Fayoum, in a small museum. The most interesting exhibits are the carefully resorted pottery and glassware. The remains of two temples dating from 1st Century BC have also been found, apparently built on the foundations of earlier temples. Mud brick houses have also been discovered although there are little remains of these. Trips to Oasr Es-Saghah and the ruins of the Ptolemaic settlement of Soknopaiou Nesos which used to be on the lakeside but is now 11 km away and 65 m above the current lake, are arranged at the museum. There are 4 separate pyramid sites in and near the Fayoum depression: Hawara, Lahun and the collapsed Maidoum pyramids are all near the main road from Fayoum to Beni Swef. |
|
||
| The pyramid of Amenemhet III (1842-1797 BC) is a 3 km walk across Bahr Youssef and into the desert from Hawara which is 6 km south east of Fayoum. Contrary to normal practice the entrance of the pyramid of which only the mud brick core remains while its external limestone cladding having long since disappeared,is situated to the south in an unsuccessfully-set attempt to confuse looters. When an archaeologist got into it, he found that Amenemhet's body had been removed and destroyed and the sarcophagus of his was missing. It was discovered next to that of his daughter Queen Sobk-Nefru, who was the last 12th dynasty ruler and had completed her father's pyramid after his death, when her own fully-intact tomb was discovered in 1965. The apex of this easily climbed pyramid offers excellent views. |
|
||
To the south of the pyramid is the Mortuary Temple of Amenemhet III which was known as Labyrinth in the classical days when it greatly impressed Herodotus who considered that it far surpassed the pyramids as a building. It was composed of over 3,000 rooms. About 6 Km off the main road lies the ruined pyramid of Senusert I (1897- 1878 BC) built by Amenemhet III's grandfather. It was built on a rocky surface on which limestone pillars were constructed and then covered over with mud-brick and finally encased in stone. A "sponge" made of sand and flint was placed around the base, in order to prevent any flooding. Once again the unusual south-facing entrance did not deter the tomb robbers. |
|||
