File:MadinatFayyumWaterWheel.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Faiyum
Sign in to saveAlso known as Fayum, Fayyum, Fayoum, Fayyoum, Fajjum, Madinat al-Fayyum, Medinet-el-Fayoum, Krokodilopolis
Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location.
OverviewAI-generated
Faiyum is a city in Egypt that serves as the capital of the Faiyum Governorate. Located in Lower Egypt, the city has a population of 519,047. It is situated at an elevation of 29 meters above sea level and operates in the UTC+02:00 time zone. The city’s official name is الفيوم, and it replaced the historical site of Crocodilopolis.
The area is described in the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. While specific weather data indicates a current temperature of 26.99 degrees and humidity of 31 percent, these readings are point-in-time observations. The city is part of the administrative entity of Faiyum Governorate and is categorized as a big city.
Synthesized by Vinony from 48 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Weather now
cached 23h ago7-day forecast
via Open-Meteo
Place details
- Locality
- قسم ثالث
- Region
- الفيوم
- Country
- مصر
- Population
- 519,047
- Timezone
- Africa/Cairo
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Air quality
- PM2.5
- 40.4 µg/m³
- PM10
- 355.8 µg/m³
Key facts
- Settlement.name
- Faiyum
- Settlement.settlement_type
- City
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Egypt
- Settlement.pushpin_label_position
- left
- Settlement.pushpin_relief
- yes
- Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
- Location within Egypt
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_name
- Egypt
- Settlement.subdivision_type1
- Governorate
- Settlement.subdivision_name1
- Faiyum
- Settlement.established_title
- Inhabited
- Settlement.area_total_km2
- 18.5
- Settlement.elevation_m
- 29
- Settlement.population_total
- 440,000
- Settlement.population_as_of
- 2024
- Settlement.population_density_km2
- auto
- Settlement.population_density_sq_mi
- auto
- Settlement.population_density_metro_km2
- auto
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- big city
- Part of
- Lower Egypt
- Official name
- الفيوم
- Country
- Egypt
- Located in
- Faiyum Governorate
- Population
- 315940
- Elevation
- 29
- Time zone
- UTC+02:00
- Image
- MadinatFayyumWaterWheel.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Faiyum
- topic's main category
- Category:Faiyum
- category for people born here
- Category:Born in Faiyum (city)
- category of associated people
- Category:People from Faiyum
- P8168
- Temuco
- native label
- الفيوم
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- replaces
- Crocodilopolis
- P12749
- carbon monoxide
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
Travel guide
Understand
Fayum is a forgotten gem off Egypt's beaten track. Archaeological evidence has found occupations around the Fayum dating back to at least the Epipalaeolithic. Middle Holocene occupations of the area are most widely studied on the north shore of Lake Moeris.
In ancient Egypt, the city was called Shedet, a centre of the cult of the crocodile god Sobek (Koinē Greek: Σοῦχος Soûkhos, Latin: Suchus). In consequence, the Greeks called it "Crocodile City" (Koinē Greek: Κροκοδειλόπολις Krokodeilópolis), Crocodīlopolis in Latin. The city worshipped a tamed sacred crocodile called in Koine Petsuchos, "the Son of Soukhos", adorned with gold and gem pendants. The Petsoukhos lived in a special temple pond and was fed by the priests with food provided by visitors. When Petsuchos died, it was replaced by another.
Under the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the city was for a while called Ptolemais Euergétis (Koinē Greek: Πτολεμαῒς Εὐεργέτις). Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309–246 BC) renamed the city Arsinoë and the whole nome after the name of his sister-wife Arsinoe II (316–270 or 268), who was deified after her death as part of the Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great, the official religion of the kingdom.
Under the Roman Empire, Arsinoë became part of the province of Arcadia Aegypti. To distinguish it from other cities of the same name, it was called "Arsinoë in Arcadia".
Get in
By microbus from different regions in Cairo e.g. Ramsis Square and also from different regions in Giza e.g. El-Remaya Square (Shotting Square) and El-Moneeb. There are slow trains from Cairo too.
See
North of Lake Qaroun: Petrified Forest Cannon Balls Valley
Buy
Local crafts of Fayoum Glazed Pottery (Tunis Village, South west of Lake Qaroun) Pottery (El Nazla village, Ibshaway) Carpets (Desya Village) Palm products (Al A'lam -Ka'aby) Patch work (Khalta village, South west of Lake Qaroun)
Eat
You can find local food of Fayum in one of the Eco lodges in Tunis village and the restaurants in lake Qaroun. Fast food is also served in all the restaurants of Fayum city,
Sleep
thumb | 300px | Fossils of Whale Valley Hotels in Fayoum vary from 5 star hotels to Eco lodges.
Go next
Cairo is the must-see capital. Five oasis towns lie further out in the Western Desert.
Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
13 sectionsContents
- Name and etymology
- Ancient history
- Faiyum mummy portraits
- ''The Zenon Papyri''
- Modern city
- Main sights
- Climate
- Notable people
- Gallery
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location.
== Name and etymology == {|class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" | | |}
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Faiyum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (16)
On the map
2 mapped locations