|
FAYOUM
Including
the lake
Qarun,
Al-Fayoum
is
Egypt's
largest
oasis.
It is an
extremely
fertile
basin
watered
by the
Nile
through
hundreds
of
capillary
canals
that
were
first
built by
the
pharaohs.
It was a
favourite
vacation
spot for
pharaohs,
who
built
palaces,
and
later
was
named
Crocodilopolis
by the
Greeks,
who
believed
the
lake's
crocodiles
were
sacred.
These
days the
region
is
valued
for its
abundant
vegetation
and rich
crops,
and
amazing
variety
of
birdlife.
Qasr
Qarun
and the
Pyramid
of
Meidum
are
deserving
of a
visit,
the
vicinity
of the
lake is
attractive
and the
desert
around
Wadi
Rayyan,
just
beyond
Al-Fayoum,
is just
spectacular.
The
oasis is
about
100km
southwest
of
Cairo.
Wadi Al-Hitan
( Whale
Valley)
was
added to
Unesco's
World
Heritage
List in
2005. It
is a
remote
valley
150 km
southwest
of
Cairo.
Here,
hundereds
of
fossil
whale
skeletons
are
exposed
by the
wind.
They lie
engrossed
in a
sandstone
formation.
Wadi el
Hitan is
the most
important
site in
the
world to
reveal
the
evolution
of the
whales
from
land
animals
to a
marine
existence.
|
