National Geographic calls tourists to visit Fayoum and view all its wonders

National Geographic calls tourists to visit Fayoum and view all its wonders

National Geographic published a report on its website all about the city of Fayoum, describing it as a time capsule of Egypt’s great past.

The world-famous magazine stated that thousands of years ago, the Fayoum Oasis was a center for the worship of Sobek, the ancient Egyptian crocodile god.

The website added that Fayoum, which remains green next to Lake Qarun, feels like a trip to the past with its archaeological sites, vibrant contemporary pottery scene, and desert plains including Wadi al-Hitan, a valley featuring the scattered fossils of ancient whales.

Fayoum’s ancient wonders

The ruins of the temple of the city of Karanis, a settlement from the Greco-Roman era, are located in the Kom Oshim area,on the Cairo-Fayoum road, specifically at kilometer 70.

Egyptologist/tour guide/blogger Mahmoud Kamel said that Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Coptic Christians alike all left behind temples, tombs and monasteries in Fayoum.

Amidst the shifting sands of Karanis is a stone doorway topped with a 2,000-year-old dedication from Roman Emperor Nero to the god Sobek.

Inside, altar surrounded by niches holds the mummified remains crocodiles. In the first century AD, people left offerings of wine or meat to the revered creatures and paraded their mummies into the city during festivals.

In the Pharaonic era,