Al Fayyum

29 18'N 30 50'E / 29.3, 30833

Flag of the governorate of Fayoum

Location of the governorate of Fayoum

Fayoum Governorate (al-Fayyum) is one of the governorates of Egypt located in the center of the country.

Its capital city is also known as Medinet el-Fayum (Madinat al-Fayyum Arabic ), 130 kilometers southwest of Cairo. The Fayum itself is an oasis in the desert of Libya , its eastern border being about 30 kilometers west of the Nile. Covering an area of 1270 square kilometers, Fayoum is a distinct region of the Nile Valley and other desert oasis: its fields are watered by a canal from the Nile , Bahr Youssef. Water flows in a depression in the desert west of the Nile Valley, Lake Fayoum, a large lake of fresh water in ancient times, but now smaller in size and whose water is salty. With the Bahr Youssef, Fayoum is a rich agricultural region.

The lake surface is about 200 sq. km. Different from a typical oasis, whose fertility depends on water obtained from springs, the cultivated land in the Faiyum is formed of Nile mud brought down by the Bahr Youssef. This channel 24 km long, Lahun (entrance to the hilly area) in Medina, several channels to branch out on either side, and irrigating the entire province, the drainage water flowing into Qron the Birket.

Southwest of the Fayum, and the province, is the depression Gharak. Another depression, entirely barren, Wadi Rayan, covering 725 km , is located west of Gharak. The whole area is under sea level, and, except space mentioned, is encircled by the Libyan hills. The lowest part of the province, northwest end, is occupied by Lake Birket Qron whose level is 43 m below sea level

Agricultural Production

The Fayoum is renowned for its agricultural products, especially figs , the grapes and olives.

Lake Birket Qron abounds in fish , including carp Nile. Medinet el-Faiyum, the provincial capital, is a major agricultural center, with a population that has increased by 26 000 inhabitants in 1882 to over 300 000 inhabitants in 2000 ^History

Aline, Fayum funerary portraits

This region, obviously the oldest agricultural area in Egypt was a center of activity for the Royal Middle Kingdom and the Ptolemaic period. The Faiyum was a major granary of the ancient world.

During the first three centuries of the Christian era, the inhabitants of the Fayum and elsewhere in Roman Egypt not only embalmed their dead but also placed a portrait of the deceased over the face of the mummy. Preserved by the dry desert environment, the Fayum portraits make up the richest body of portraits that have survived from antiquity. They provide us with a remarkable vision of a society of people of mixed origins: the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Syrians, Libyans and others who have flourished 2000 years ago in the Fayum.

Towards the end of the first millennium, the arable sector has shrunk, and human settlement around the edge of the basin were abandoned. These sites include some of the best preserved sites from the end of the Roman Empire , including Karanis, and Byzantium and the early period Islamic. In XIV ^century , Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq redfricher made.

Notes

Governorates of Egypt
October 6 Alexandria Ash-Sharqiyah Assiut Aswan Beheira Beni Suef Cairo Dakahleya Damietta Fayoum Gharbeya Giza Helwan Ismailia Kafr el-Sheikh Luxor Marsa Matruh- Menufeya Mer- Red Minya New Valley Port Said Qalyubiya Qena North Sinai South Sinai Sohag Suez

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