The Monastery of Saint Antony to be renovated

An extensive renovation of the world’s oldest monastery was unveiled last month in Egypt. The restoration and conservation of the 1,600 year-old Monastery of Saint Antony, situated in the rugged desert mountains near Egypt’s Red Sea coast, cost US$14.5 million. The project took eight years to complete. It is said that in this remote spot, at the end of the 3rd century, Saint Anthony took up residence in a cave, with little more than a spring and some palm trees to sustain him.Upon his death in AD 356, his followers built cells and created the world’s first Christian monastery, which now houses 120 monks, is the burial place of four saints, and holds ancient church paintings dating to the Middle Ages. In the government-sponsored project, workers renovated the monasteries’ two main churches - the 15th century Church of the Apostles and the 4th century Church of Saint Anthony, the fortress-like ancient wall surrounding the monastery, and several outbuildings. A modern sewage system was also installed for the monastery, which receives a million visitors every year. Monks say the restoration and discovery of the cells of the monks sheds important light on the early years of monasticism and bolsters the country’s long monastic tradition. (AP)

Restaurants

There are no international chain restaurants, however, hotels provide good food and if you are in Fayoum for the day only, bring a picnic lunch with you.

Accommodation:

Accommodation:
There are several hotel options including Auberge du lac
and “Ecolodge” the Zad al Mosafer Guest House  This is a country club-style 4-star hotel on the lake front. It has all amenities, as well as an outdoor swimming pool Auberge du lac and health spa. Sightseeing tours can be arranged through the hotel. “Ecolodge” the Zad al Mosafer Guest House A true ecolodge with mud-built beds. There are many guests who prefer to stay there as it is closer to nature with its surroundings and primitive buildings. The restaurant
serves ethnic food, famous especially for grilled fish and
duck, besides Fayoumi pancakes (feteer). There are rooms
with private baths, as well as, communal bathrooms. The
ecolodge has a swimming pool for those who would like to
relax after a long day of sightseeing. The place is owned
by an Egyptian writer who has used local materials of mud
brick for the place.

Shopping

Tunis is a small village in Fayoum on the border of the Lake (south-western part of Fayoum). Educated by a Swiss potter who started a pottery school for children in 1970, several local potters have started pottery schools and sales points. They make lovely pottery, mostly decorated with naive art, depicting the things they see in daily life, like donkeys, goats, ducks and agricultural products. Presently it is home to five pottery workshops that produce pottery with a modern method different to that of Al-Nazla Village. Village of Al-Nazla is located about 35km northwest of the capital Fayoum. The village sits atop a narrow valley. For many, it’s a pottery paradise. Work is carried out according to very old and traditional methods that have not changed much since Pharaonic times. In the village’s more than 15 pottery shops, pottery is produced in open-air workshops.

Sports Activities

On the edge of the desert you can sail, windsurf, and fish in Lake Qarun. Other places of outstanding natural beauty near Fayoum are the hot springs at Ain al-Silin, hosting a park with fruit gardens (9 kilometres north of the capital, towards Lake Qarun), and the waterfalls at Wadi al-Rayan, 40km towards Bahariyya, are also suitable for swimming and picnics.

Art Village and the Caricature Museum

A 4-wheel drive would help maneuver the unpaved narrow lanes to Fayoum’s International Art Center tucked away in the hillside village of Tunis on Lake Qarun. It is an attraction place for artists from the region, Europe and as far away as Canada. As breathtaking as the natural scenery is, what draws them to Fayoum is the center’s founder, Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla. Visitors are welcome, though preferably on the weekends when they won’t interrupt any of the resident artists at work. The only entrance fees Abla asks for, is a book or a magazine to contribute to the center’s library besides LE10 to enter the Caricature Museum. The Museum was developed to house some of the works created by exceptional artists and to honor their pivotal (at times overlooked) role in relaying the emotional, social and political condition of Egypt. It is, in a way, a sanctuary for these works so that may always exist and remain in our memories and not be discarded like the newspaper or magazine they were printed in. Take the road leading to Lake Qaroun, then right after Shakshouk and before Wadi Al Rayan entrance 

Kom Ushim Museum

This is a small museum, almost hidden in its own gardens, which has been recently renovated and includes artefacts found in Fayoum dating from prehistoric to Roman periods. There are some good Middle Kingdom models from Hawara, the colossal head of a Roman god from Karanis and many items of pottery and coins found in Fayoum. The museum is temperature controlled and very well lit. The museum also exhibits two of the famous ‘Fayoum Portraits’ (others can be seen in Cairo Museum). These were personal
portraits painted on wood or linen that covered the face of the mummy towards the end of the Greco-Roman
times. 

Activities Bird Watching

Bird watchers can have a fabulous time here, where there are 88 species nestled around the lake, including flamingoes,13 species of resident birds and 26 migrant and vagrant birds. It is an internationally designated area for bird watching (designated by Bird Life International)

The Pyramids

Not only will you find pyramids in Cairo, but Fayoum is also famous for three others, the Pyramid at Hawara, Pyramid at Ilahun and the one at Meidum. They are all between half and one hour away from the village, around nine kilometres south-east of the capital

The Monastery of the Archangel Gabriel (Deir El Malak Ghobriel)

The Monastery dates back to the 5th century, when the grandson of the king had a vision of the Virgin Mary and the two archangels Gabriel and Michael at this place. For centuries the monastery was neglected to the advantages of other nearby monasteries. The main church was largely built and redecorated late in the 19th century. But during a 1997 restoration, 11th century paintings of saints like Gabriel, Virgin Mary and Jesus were discovered. Today, the monastery has been repopulated by Coptic monks and there is an annual festival dedicated to Gabriel on 18 December. This is one of few times when the place getscrowded.

Umm el Baragat

Near the village of Fayoum, lies the ruins of the ancient town of Tebtunis. The ruins are from the period of the Ptolmaic rulers up to the Romans. At the site, there is a small temple dedicated to a local variation of Sobek and a stone-paved processional way leading to the temple , which is protected by two lion statues made from limestone. There is also a crocodile cemetery, where more than 1,000 mummified crocodiles and sarcophagi were found.

The Water Wheels

There are over 200 water wheels in Fayoum. Since the city is located in a depression, self-powered water wheels were essential to help irrigate the surrounding lands. The one particular type -- exclusive to Fayoum -- began in Pharaonic times, turning it into the city’s symbol. There is a compound of three water wheels opposite to each other in the city’s capital.

Qasr Qarun

This temple is dedicated to the Fayoumi god Sobek, built during Ptolemaic times. From the outside it appears as
a simple square building, but from the inside, it is a maze of rooms and staircases, all ending on the roof. Around 35 km from the city lying at the far western end of Lake Qarun

Medinet Madi

Considered to be one of the most important temples in Fayoum. Medinet Madi, which means “City of the Past” was known during the Greco-Roman period as Narmouthis (City of Renenutet) Today, the most interesting structure is the southern-facing Middle Kingdom temple with its Ptolemaic addition, located just over a mound beyond the Italians’ old dig house. The main temple was built under the pharaohs Amenemhet 3 and 4 during the 12th Dynasty. It was dedicated to two gods, the popular crocodile-god Sobek and the serpent goddess Renenutet Situated about 30 kilometers southwest of Fayoum

Obelisk of Senusert

This Obelisk stands in honor of Senwosret I (12th Dynasty);a monument that was originally found in two pieces during the 18th century and was recently reconstructed and erected in the city. It is thought to be the only obelisk in Egypt with a rounded top, and has a cleft where a golden statue of Ra ( the sun god) was originally placed.

Valley of Whales (Wadi El Heetan)

In 2005, the UNESCO announced the Valley of Whales
a protectorate since it contains fossils of whales that date back to 40 million years ago. The valley validates the evolutionof whales from previous land-based animals to ocean going mammals. The road to the valley has been recently constructed, making it easier for non 4-wheel drive cars to get there. Furthermore, a wilderness desert campsite is also available, offering fire pits and water closets where campers can then enjoy sunset and sunrise at this spectacular site.

Sites in Fayoum Wadi El-Rayan

Declared as a protected area in 1989, Wadi El-Rayan,known for its waterfalls, is about 65 kilometers southwest of the Fayoum town. The contrast of the blue lake and the golden desert, alone, demands appreciation. Not only is the valley a protected area, but it is also home to several historic and significant sites, including Phaoronic and Roman ruins, lakes and waterfalls, and Egypt’s first naturalheritage site, Valley of the Whales. After passing through the gates, there are a couple of cafeterias and several vendors selling pottery, wood crafts and baskets of all kinds and sizes, which Fayoum is known for.Following that, the wide-open desert becomes more beautiful with sculpted yellow dunes. There you will see,three sulphur springs at the southern side of the lower lake with extensive sand dunes. Jabal Manaqueer Al Rayan at the south and southeast of the springs is where marine fossils and archeological remains are found and Jabal Madwera, near the lower lake, is known for its extensive dune formations. You will also enjoy the flora and fauna there. Vegetation is found around the springs and at the base of large dunes, covering around 13 species of plants. The area is also hometo the world’s only known population of the endangered Slender-horned Gazelle as well as eleven species of reptiles and nine species of mammals. In fact, the valley has the world’s smallest fox, the Fennec Fox, as well as a small population of the threatened Docras Gazelle. At the waterfalls, there are several cafes that offer hot and cold drinks, as well as fresh grilled fish. Visitors can also take a boat ride around the serene lake or fish during the early mornings around the waterfalls.

Serene Fayoum

Fayoum is only an hour away from Cairo and a perfect place to relax after a nhectic schedule of sightseeing in Cairo – it is an ideal venue for either a one-day trip, weekend or even long getaways.Once you get on the Fayoum road, you are in for a pleasant surprise – a completely different world of green landscapes embracing the town, a country side with palm trees, and a clear blue lake. All along Lake Qarun, the largest salt lake in Egypt, you can find anything from a Marine Biology Center, a school for hospitality to fish farms and art villages.

Hawara

Hawara is an archaeological site of Ancient Egypt, south of the site of Crocodilopolis (Arsinoe) at the entrance to the depression of the Fayyum oasis. The first excavations at the site were made by Karl Lepsius, in 1843. William Flinders Petrie excavated at Hawara, in 1888, finding papyri of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, and, north of the pyramid, a vast necropolis where he found 146 portraits on coffins dating to the Roman period, famous as being among the very few surviving examples of painted portraits from Classical Antiquity, the "Fayoum portraits" illustrated in Roman history textbooks.
Amenemhet III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawara (illustration, right) is believed to post-date the so-called "Black Pyramid" built by the same ruler at Dahshur. It is this that is believed to have been Amenemhet's final resting place. At Hawara there was also the intact (pyramid) tomb of Neferu-Ptah, daughter of Amenemhet III. This tomb was found about 2 km South of the king's pyramid.


In common with the Middle Kingdom pyramids constructed after Amenemhet II, it was built of mudbrick round a core of limestone passages and burial chambers, and faced with limestone. Most of the facing stone was later pillaged for use in other buildings— a fate common to almost all of Egypt's pyramids— and today the pyramid is little more than an eroded, vaguely pyramidal mountain of mud brick, and of the once magnificent mortuary temple precinct formerly enclosed by a wall there is little left beyond the foundation bed of compacted sand and chips and shards of limestone.
From the entrance a sloping passage way with steps runs down to a small room and a further short horizontal passage. In the roof of this horizontal passage there was a concealed sliding trapdoor weighing 20 tons. If this was found and opened a robber would find himself confronted by an empty passage at a right angle to the passage below, closed by wooden doors, or by a passage parallel to the passage below, carefully filled with mud and stone blocking. He would assume that the blocking concealed the entrance and waste time removing it (thereby increasing the likelihood of detection by the pyramid guardians).
In fact there was a second 20-ton trapdoor in the roof of the empty passage, giving onto a second empty passage, also at a right angle to the first. This too had a 20-ton trapdoor giving onto a passage at a right angle to its predecessor (thus the interior of the pyramid was circled by these passages). However this passage ended in a large area of mud and stone blocking that presumably concealed the burial chamber.
This, however, was a blind and merely filled a wide but shallow alcove. Two blind shafts in the floor, carefully filled with cut stone blocks, further wasted the robbers' time, for the real entrance to the burial chamber was even more carefully concealed and lay between the blind shafts and opposite the alcove.
Despite these elaborate protective measures, Petrie found that none of the trapdoors had been slid into place and the wooden doors were open. Whether this indicated negligence on the part of the burial party, an intention to return and place further burials in the pyramid (when found there were two sarcophagii in the quartzite monolith described below and room for at least two more), or a deliberate action to facilitate robbery of the tomb, we cannot know.
The burial chamber was made out of a single quartzite monolith which was lowered into a larger chamber lined with limestone. This monolithic slab weighed an estimated 110 tons according to Petrie. A course of brick was placed on the chamber to raise the ceiling then the chamber was covered with 3 quartzite slabs (estimated weight 45 tons each). Above the burial chamber were 2 relieving chambers. This was topped with 50 ton limestone slabs forming a pointed roof. Then an enormous arch of brick 3 feet thick was built over the pointed roof to support the core of the pyramid.
The entrance to the pyramid is today flooded to a depth of 6 metres as a result of the waters from the Bahr el-Yusuf (Joseph's Canal) canal, which flows around two sides of the site and passes within 30m of the pyramid.


Petrie unearthed a number of vivid Fayoum mummy portraits in 1911
The huge mortuary temple that originally stood adjacent to this pyramid is believed to have formed the basis of the complex of buildings with galleries and courtyards called a "labyrinth" by Herodotus (see quote at Labyrinth), and mentioned by Strabo and Diodorus Siculus. (There is no historicity to the assertion of Diodorus Siculus that this was the model for the labyrinth of Crete that Greeks imagined housed the Minotaur,) The demolition of the "labyrinth" may date in part to the reign of Ptolemy II, under whom the Pharaonic city of Shedyt (Greek Crocodilopolis, the modern Medinet el-Fayum) was renamed to honour his sister-wife Arsinoë; a massive Ptolemaic building program at Arsinoe has been suggested as the ultimate destination of Middle Kingdom limestone columns and blocks removed from Hawara, and now lost.
Queen Sobekneferu of the Twelfth dynasty also built at the complex. Her name meant "most beautiful of Sobek", the sacred crocodile.
Among the discoveries made by Flinders Petrie were papyrus manuscripts, including a great papyrus scroll which contains parts of books 1 and 2 of the Iliad (the "Hawara Homer" of the Bodleian Library, Oxford).

El-Lahun

El-Lahun
Located in the Faiyum, Egypt, el-Lahun or Kahun  is the workers' village associated with the pyramid of Senusret II (also spelled Sesostris II). It is located near the modern village of el-Lahun , and is often known by that name. Also nearby is the pyramid itself, known as the Pyramid of Lahun.


Overview


Like the other Twelfth Dynasty pyramids in the Faiyum, the Pyramid of Lahun is made of mud brick, but here the core of the pyramid consists of a network of stone walls that were infilled by mud brick. This approach was probably intended to ensure the stability of the brick structure. Unusually, despite a Pyramid Temple on the east side, the entrance to the pyramid is on the south. The archaeologist Flinders Petrie nevertheless spent considerable time searching for it on the east side. He discovered the entrance only when workmen clearing the nearby tombs of the nobles discovered a small tunnel at the bottom of a 40-foot shaft, which led to the royal burial chamber. Evidently the original workmen on the tomb had used their legitimate activity as a cover for digging this tunnel, which enabled them to rob the pyramid. Once he was in the burial chamber, Petrie was able to work backwards to the entrance.
The pyramid stands on an artificial terrace cut from sloping ground. On the north side eight rectangular blocks of stone were left to serve as mastabas, probably for the burial of personages associated with the royal court. In front of each mastaba is a narrow shaft leading down to the burial chamber underneath. Also on the north side is the Queen's Pyramid or subsidiary pyramid.
The most remarkable discovery was that of the village of the workers who both constructed the pyramid and then served the funerary cult of the king. The village, conventionally known as Kahun, is about 800 meters from the pyramid and lies in the desert a short distance from the edge of cultivation. When found, many of the buildings were extant up to roof height, and Petrie confirmed that the true arch was known and used by the workmen in the village. However, all the buildings found were demolished in the process of excavation, which proceeded in long strips down the length of the village. When the first strip had been cleared, mapped and drawn, the next strip was excavated and the spoil dumped in the previous strip. As a result there is very little to be seen on the site today.
The village was excavated by Petrie in 1888-90 and again in 1914. The excavation was remarkable for the number, range, and quality of objects of everyday life (including tools) that were found in the houses. According to Dr Rosalie David's Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt, "the quantity, range and type of articles of everyday use which were left behind in the houses may indeed suggest that the departure [of the workmen] was sudden and unpremeditated" (p. 199).
Among the curiosities found there were wooden boxes buried beneath the floors of many of the houses. When opened they were found to contain the skeletons of infants, sometimes two or three in a box, and aged only a few months at death. Petrie reburied these human remains in the desert.
Also found in the town were the Kahun papyri, comprising about 1000 fragments, covering legal and medical matters. Re-excavation of the area in 2009 by Egyptian archaeologists revealed a cache of pharaonic-era mummies in brightly painted wooden coffins in the sand-covered desert rock surrounding the pyramid.
The site was occupied into the late Thirteenth Dynasty, and then again in the New Kingdom, when there were large land reclamation schemes in the area


Town layout


The town was laid out in a regular plan, with mud-brick town walls on 3 sides. No evidence was found of a fourth wall, which may have collapsed and been washed away during the annual innundation. The town was rectangular in shape and was divided internally by a mudbrick wall as large and strong as the exterior walls. This wall divided about one third of the area of the town and in this smaller area the houses consisted of rows of back-to-back, side-by-side single room houses. The larger area, which was higher up the slope and thus benefited from whatever breeze was blowing, contained a much smaller number of large, multi-room villas. Petrie compared the village to a Welsh mining village, where the workers lived in terraces in the valley while the mine owner and overseers lived in larger houses up the hill.
A major feature of the town was the so-called ‘acropolis’ building. This was an important building, as indicated by the presence of column bases. Petrie suggested that this may have been the King’s residence whilst he was visiting construction work. The building seems to have been out of use and derelict before the end of occupation.
Other records show that there were a large number of Semitic slaves in Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty  It is interesting that some of the villas were constructed of layers of mudbrick separated by layers of reed matting, a technique used in Mesopotamia. Furthermore, burial beneath the living quarters of a house was a custom noted at Ur by Woolley. It is possible that the workers who were so carefully guarded by the village wall and separated from the overseers by an equally strong wall were Semitic (Asiatic) slaves not trusted by their overseers.


Discoveries


It was announced by the Supreme Council of Antiquities on 26 April 2009 that an anthology of pharaonic-era mummies vividly painted wooden coffins were uncovered near the Lahun pyramid in Egypt. The sarcophagi were decorated with bright hues of green, red and white bearing images of their occupants. Archaeologists unearthed dozens of mummies, thirty of which were very well-preserved with prayers purposed to help the deceased in the afterlife inscribed upon them. The site, once enveloped in slabs of white limestone, revealed that it could possibly be thousands of years older than previously thought. 
Experts think that a new understanding of Egyptian funerary architecture and customs of the Middle Pharaonic Kingdom all the way to the Roman era could be learned from the exploration of the dozens of tombs encompassing the site near the Lahun, Egypt’s southernmost pyramid. "The tombs were cut on the rock itself, and they vary in architectural designs," said archaeologist Abdul Rahman Al-Ayedi, head of excavations at the site. . Some of the tombs were erected on top of gravesites from earlier eras. Ayedi told reporters, "The prevailing idea was that this site has been established by Senusret II, the fourth king of the 12th dynasty. But in light of our discovery, I think we are going to change this theory, and soon we will announce another discovery." He said teams had made a discovery of an artifact that was dated earlier than the 12th dynasty, but did not include any specifics on the item and promised an official statement would be made within days. 
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities announced May 23, 2010 that 57 ancient Egyptian tombs discovered in an area close to Lahun. Most of the graves contained an ornamental painted wooden sarcophagus with a mummy inside. Some of the tombs date from the Egyptian First and Second Dynasties, as far back as 2750 B.C. Several of the sites were decorated with hieroglyphics that the ancients believed would help the deceased travel through the afterlife.
Twelve of the tombs were found to belong to the 18th dynasty which ruled Egypt during the second millennium B.C. Egypt's archaeology chief, Zahi Hawass, said the mummies that date to the [18th dynasty] are covered in linen decorated with religious texts from the Book of the Dead and scenes of ancient Egyptian deities. The discovery might help experts have a better understanding of the ancient Egyptian religions. Some of the tombs are decorated with religious texts that ancient Egyptians believed would help the deceased cross over to the underworld, said Abdel Rahman El-Aydi, chief archeologist of project.[6]
El-Aydi said one of the oldest tombs is almost completely intact, with all of its funerary equipment and a wooden sarcophagus containing a mummy wrapped in linen.[7]
In 31 of the tombs, dating back to around 2030 - 1840 B.C., during the Middle Kingdom Era, archeologists found scenes of different ancient Egyptian deities, such as the Horus, Amun, Hathor & Khnum decorated on the tombs.