Historical Sites

El Fayoum Oasis is Located 100 kilometers southwest of Cairo. It is famous for its biodiversity and scenic destinations. Also, it distinguishes with containing various types of tourism as Archaeological, tourist, rural, recreational, and environmental.

In El Fayoum, you will be able to enjoy visiting historical and archaeological buildings, the waterfalls and the natural beauty, natural reserves, doing sandboarding and Safari, and entertaining doing activities.

The name of El Fayoum Oasis  In the Pharaonic period, this place was called (pa yam), meaning (the sea), referring to the sea existing in that place. In the Greco-Roman period, this word became (pa yum). Then in the Coptic period, it was changed to be (fa yum). Finally, after the Arabs entered Egypt, they added (El) to be El Fayoum.

The history of El Fayoum Oasis  El Fayoum has a great position throughout history, but its golden age was during the middle kingdom in the 12^th dynasty as it became the capital of ancient Egypt under the name (Itjtawy). Besides, it was the center of worshipping the god Sobek, taking the crocodile shape.

Kings of the 12^th dynasty set up many reform projects in El Fayoum as reclamation of lands, construction of dams, and the cultivation of many crops.

It also had a great history during the Greco-Roman period as it was famous with Fayoum Portraits.

Sightseeing of El Fayoum Oasis  As we said, El Fayoum Oasis distinguishes by containing various types of tourism. So let’s go on a tour to know more about these sightseeing:

1 – Lahun Pyramid: It belongs to King Senusret II of the 12th dynasty. It was built of mud bricks and coated with limestone.

2 – Hawara Pyramid:It belongs to King Amenemhet III of the 12th dynasty. It AKA the Black Pyramid due to using black mud bricks in its construction.

3 – The Valley of the Whales or Wadi El- Hitan: It is considered as one of the Egyptian heritage sites by UNESCO in 2005. Wadi Al-Hitan is famous for containing fossil remains Archaeoceti, mapping the evolution of the whales from a land-based to an aquatic mammal.

4 – Wadi El-Rayan

5 – Lake Qarun

6 – Qasr Qarun or Qarun Palace

7 – Karanis City

8 – Tunis Village

9 – Gabal El-Medawara and the magic lake

El Fayoum Oasis is really worth to visit. Discover it with Egypt Vacation Tours team by submitting our day tours and packages.

Saqqara is one of the most important cemeteries in Memphis Necropolis. It contains thousands of tombs (royal pyramids and mastabas). Among these tombs, there is the step pyramid of king Djoser, the oldest pyramid in the ancient Egyptian civilization.

Let’s take a tour in Saqqara Necropolis

1 – King Djoser Complex and The step pyramid This complex belongs to King Djoser from the third dynasty, the old kingdom. The vizier, Imhotep, designed this complex to be the first complete stone building complex in the ancient Egyptian civilization.

This complex contains the burial tomb of King Djoser, the step pyramid. The step pyramid is the most conspicuous sightseeing of Saqqara. It stands 60 meters high and was constructed with six mastabas, so the researchers believe that this pyramid refers to the architectural development of the royal mastabas in the first and second dynasties.

2 – Unas pyramid Unas pyramid is owned by King Unas, the last king in the fifth dynasty. It lies southwest of the King Djoser complex. This pyramid is famous for containing the oldest Egyptian religious texts, the pyramid texts. It exists on the wall of the tomb chamber and is written in hieroglyphs with blue pigment. These texts aim to protect the dead in the afterlife.

3 – Teti pyramid Teti pyramid belongs to King Teti, the first king in the sixth dynasty. This pyramid is located on the northeast of the King Djoser complex.

4 – High Officials Tombs Saqqara houses several tombs or mastabas belonging to the high officials from the old kingdom and the new kingdom. The old kingdom tombs are as Mereruka, Kagemni, Ptah-Hotep family, and Mehu. The new kingdom tombs are as Horemhep, Maya, Tia, and Merynieth.

These tombs distinguish by containing depictions showing the daily life activities of the ancient Egyptians. These tombs refer to the high position of those persons and the increasing of their power at that time.

5 – Serapeum of the sacred bull Apis The Serapeum is the cemetery of the sacred animal of the god Ptah, the Apis bulls. It contains rock-cut underground burial chambers to bury the mummied bulls.

Discover the great Saqqara Necropolis by submitting on Egypt Vacation Tours day tour and packages to enjoy this unique site with our experts.