Faiyum
For other uses, see Faiyum (disambiguation).
Fayum Egypt
El Fayoum
Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 29.308374°N 30.844105°E [1]Coordinates: 29.308374°N 30.844105°E [1]
Country Egypt
Governorate Faiyum
Elevation 23 m (75 ft)
Population (2012)
• Total 349,883
Time zone EST (UTC+2)
Faiyum (Egyptian Arabic: ﻡﻮﻴﻔﻟﺍ el-Fayyūm pronounced [elfæjˈjuːm]; Coptic:
̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ
Phiom) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Cairo, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. The town occupies part of the ancient site of Crocodilopolis. Founded in around 4000 BC, it is the oldest city in Egypt and one of the oldest cities in Africa.Name and etymology
pA-y-m
in hieroglyphs
Its name in English is also spelled as Fayum, Fayoum, Al Fayyum or El Faiyūm. Faiyum was previously officially named Madīnet el Faiyūm (Arabic for The City of Faiyum). The name Faiyum (and its spelling variations) may also refer to the Faiyum Oasis, although it is commonly used by Egyptians today to refer to the city.
The modern name of the city comes from Coptic
̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ
/Ⲡⲉⲓⲟⲙ
efiom/peiom (whence the proper nameⲠⲁⲓⲟⲙ
payom), meaning the Sea or the Lake, which in turn comes from late Egyptian pA y-m of the same meaning, a
reference to the nearby Lake Moeris.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).
The highest record temperatures was 46 °C (115 °F) on June 13, 1965 and the lowest record temperature was 2 °C (36 °F) on January 8, 1966.
Climate data for Faiyum
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 28 (82) 30 (86) 36 (97) 41 (106) 43 (109) 46 (115) 41 (106) 43 (109) 39 (102) 40 (104) 36 (97) 30 (86) 46 (115) Average high °C (°F) 18.9 (66) 20.9 (69.6) 24.1 (75.4) 29 (84) 33.6 (92.5) 35.5 (95.9) 36.1 (97) 35.8 (96.4) 33.2 (91.8) 30.7 (87.3) 25.7 (78.3) 20.4 (68.7) 28.66 (83.57) Daily mean °C (°F) 11.6 (52.9) 13.2 (55.8) 16.1 (61) 20.4 (68.7) 24.9 (76.8) 27.1 (80.8) 28.2 (82.8) 28.1 (82.6) 25.7 (78.3) 23.1 (73.6) 18.6 (65.5) 13.5 (56.3) 20.87 (69.59) Average low °C (°F) 4.3 (39.7) 5.5 (41.9) 8.2 (46.8) 11.8 (53.2) 16.3 (61.3) 18.8 (65.8) 20.3 (68.5) 20.4 (68.7) 18.2 (64.8) 15.6 (60.1) 11.6 (52.9) 6.6 (43.9) 13.13 (55.63) Record low °C (°F) 2 (36) 4 (39) 5 (41) 8 (46) 11 (52) 16 (61) 13 (55) 13 (55) 10 (50) 11 (52) 4 (39) 4 (39) 2 (36) Precipitation mm (inches) 1 (0.04) 1 (0.04) 1 (0.04) 1 (0.04) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 1 (0.04) 2 (0.08) 7 (0.28) Source #1: Climate-Data.org
Ancient city
Main article: Crocodilopolis
The history recorded a special ancient civilization which grow up along the lake banks, the called it fayoum first and second civilization before history. There are many fossils of animals such as elephants, monkeys, whales and extinct vertebrates such as dinosaur Fayoum «Baralitetan» in Mount tarry north of Lake Qarun.
Qarun Palace
1
Pharaonic Fayoum
Ahnasia was the ancient capital of Fayoum. Some land, named «shedt», was reclaimed. Because of the presence of crocodiles in Lake Fayoum, the crocodile god Sobek was worshiped.
Modern city
Faiyum has several large bazaars, mosques,[2] baths and a
much-frequented weekly market. The canal called Bahr Yussef runs through the city, its banks lined with houses. There are two bridges over the river: one of three arches, which carries the main street and bazaar, and one of two arches, over which is built the Qaitbay mosque, that was a gift from his wife to honor the Mamluk Sultan in Fayoum. Mounds north of the city mark the site of Arsinoe, known to the ancient Greeks as Crocodilopolis, where in ancient times the sacred crocodile kept in Lake Moeris was worshipped. The center of the city is on the canal, with the four waterwheels, that are adopted by the governorate of Fayoum as its national symbol, their chariots and bazaars are easy to spot.
Faiyum mummy portraits
Portrait of a man, ca. 125-150 AD. Encaustic on wood; 37 cm × 20 cm (15 in × 8 in)
Main article: Faiyum mummy portraits
Faiyum is the source of some famous death masks or mummy portraits painted during the Roman occupation of the area. The Egyptians continued their practice of burying their dead, despite the Roman preference for cremation. While under the control of the Roman Empire, Egyptian death masks were painted on wood in a pigmented wax technique called encaustic—the Faiyum mummy portraits represent this technique. While commonly believed to represent Greek settlers in Egypt, the Faiyum portraits instead reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the elite Greek minority in the city.
Famous Sites
• Hanging Mosque, built under the Ottoman Rule over Egypt • Hawara, archeological site 27 km (17 mi) from the city • Lahun Pyramids, 4 km (2 mi) outside the city
• Qaitbay Mosque, in the city, and was built by the wife of the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay • Qasr Qarun, 44 km (27 mi) from the city
• Wadi Elrayan or Wadi Rayan or the largest waterfalls in Egypt, around 50 km (31 mi) from the city
• Wadi Al-HitanValley of whales, Template:Is a paleontological site in the Al Fayyum Governorate of Egypt, some 150 km (93 mi) southwest of Cairo. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A whale skeleton lies in the sand at Wadi Al-Hitan (Arabic: ﻥﺎﺘﻴﺤﻟﺍ ﻱﺩﺍﻭ, "Whales Valley")
near the Egyptian city of Faiyum.
Notable people
• Tefta Tashko-Koço, well known Albanian singer was born in Faiyum, where her family lived at that time.
• Saadia Gaon, the influential Jewish teacher of the early 10th century, was originally from Faiyum, and often called al-Fayyumi. • Sobek, Egyptian crocodile god.
References
[1] http://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Faiyum& params=29.308374_N_30.844105_E_type:city(349883)_region:EG
[2] The Mosque of Qaitbey in the Fayoum of Egypt (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/qaitbeymosque.htm) by Seif Kamel
• The Hydraulics of Open Channel Flow: An Intrpenoduction (http://www.bh.com/companions/0340740671/ exercises/prob2.htm)Wikipedia:Link rot
•• Ebraam Samir "lives in fayoum"
External links
Wikinews has related news: 30 brightly coloured mummies discovered in Egyptian necropolis
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Faiyum.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Faiyum.
• "Photo Gallery: Water Issues in Fayoum Villages" (http://crs.org/egypt/village-sanitation/). • See images gallery for Fayoum (http://www.imagesjourney.com/Main.aspx?Category=43)
• See images gallery for Nazlah village in Fayoum (http://www.imagesjourney.com/Main.aspx?Category=44) • Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. "Geographical information on Al Fayyum, Egypt" (http://www.fallingrain.com/
world/EG/04/Al_Fayyum.html). Retrieved 2011-03-22.
• P.Fayum = Fayum towns and their papyri, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt (http://www.archive.org/details/faymtownsandthe00milngoog) at the Internet Archive
• Vincent L. Morgan and Spencer G. Lucas (2002). "Notes From Diary––Fayum Trip, 1907" (http://www.scribd. com/doc/13199895/Notes-From-DiaryFayum-Trip-1907-Walter-Granger-Bulletin-22-2002-NMMNH) (PDF).
Article Sources and Contributors
Faiyum Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=623543932 Contributors: AL-FAYOUM, EGYPT, Ahmadpontymageed, Altaveron, Andres, Anthony Appleyard, Arab Hafez,
B14709, Blabla77, Carlossuarez46, Chapsut, Chapultepec, CommonsDelinker, DanMS, Deor, Deville, Dimadick, Dr. Blofeld, Dysmorodrepanis, Ebraam samir, Egyegy, Ericoides, Faris knight, Fixer88, Gavin.collins, Gene Nygaard, Ghirlandajo, Gobeirne, Grandnephew, Grenats, Heba.amir, Hede2000, HennessyC, Hibernian, Hussain92, Ikokki, It Is Me Here, Jeeny, Jheald, Jllm06, Joy, Kalyan gnp, KierraF, Koektrommel, Lanternix, LeaveSleaves, Llywrch, Lotje, Magioladitis, Mahmudmasri, Malcolm Farmer, Mani1, Marek69, Mario1952, Meno25, Middayexpress, Mr Accountable, Nika 243, No1lakersfan, Noexit2002, OlEnglish, Paul Rako, Podzemnik, Psamtik 1, Rich Farmbrough, Rickard Vogelberg, Rjwilmsi, Roberto Cruz, RolandUnger, Sammalin, Sardanaphalus, SchreiberBike, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Skinsmoke, SriMesh, Stevenmitchell, Sulmues, Taharqa, That Guy, From That Show!, TheEgyptian, Thricecube, Tim!, Tobias Conradi, Tushyk, Tutmosis, Twthmoses, Wikid77, William Avery, Xenophonix, Y-barton, Zerida, 76 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Fayum.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fayum.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Hussain92 File:Egypt location map.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Egypt_location_map.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:
NordNordWest
File:Flag of Egypt.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Egypt.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Open Clip Art
File:QasrQarunFacade.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:QasrQarunFacade.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors:
User:RolandUnger
File:UmmAtlTemple1.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:UmmAtlTemple1.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors:
User:RolandUnger
File:Fayum-01.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fayum-01.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Eloquence
File:Whale skeleton 2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Whale_skeleton_2.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Foixi at en.wikipedia and
Foixi at de.wikipedia
Image:Wikinews-logo.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wikinews-logo.svg License: logo Contributors: Vectorized by Simon 01:05, 2 August 2006 (UTC) Updated
by Time3000 17 April 2007 to use official Wikinews colours and appear correctly on dark backgrounds. Originally uploaded by Simon.
Image:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Commons-logo.svg License: logo Contributors: Anomie
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