Al Fayoum

I wanted to get away from the chaos of the city (Giza) so I booked a tour to Al Fayoum, the largest oasis in Egypt. Fayoum was once very fertile thanks to diversion of the Nile river, and as a result of this it was full of plants animals and of course human settlements. This was thousands of years ago.

The history of Fayoum is pretty long and I can't get into it further since I am not an expert on the subject matter, so I will summarize my visit by mentioning some of the main highlights of my visit.

The whale valley where you can see fossils of the earliest and now extinct whales. There is also a museum that explains how the land evolved from millions of years ago and highlights the early animals that existed in the area at the time.

The magic lake which got it's name because it changes it's color several times a day depending on the time of day and the sunlight it receives.

The waterfalls of Wadi El Rayan

Last but not least, the beautiful landscape of the desert.

That's it folks! It was quite an adventure and what I can advise anyone visiting Fayoum is, put on plenty of sunscreen, wear light clothing including long sleeved tops, bring a hat or any head cover that will keep your head cool, bring sun glasses of course and try to visit early in the morning when the sun is not yet at it's peak. Of course I didn't follow a lot of this advise and regretted it so that's why I am passing on the lesson. 

Today is my last day in Egypt before flying back to Kenya at night. One of the guys who works at the guesthouse volunteered to walk me around Giza and show me around. He is pretty cool so that should be fun. Truly, this has been a fantastic holiday, I may have blown my budget but I have had a good time.