​FAYUM, a mudiria (province) of Upper Egypt, having an areaof 490 sq. m. and a population (1907) of 441,583. The capital,Medinet-el-Fayum, is 81 m. S.S.W. of Cairo by rail. The Fayumproper is an oasis in the Libyan Desert, its eastern border beingabout 15 m. west of the Nile. It is connected with that riverby the Bahr Yusuf, which reaches the oasis through a gap inthe hills separating the province from the Nile Valley. South-westof the Fayum, and forming part of the mudiria, is theGharak depression. Another depression, entirely barren, theWadi Rayan, covering 280 sq. m., lies west of the Gharak. Thewhole region is below sea-level, and save for the gap mentionedis encircled by the Libyan hills. The lowest part of the province,the north-west end, is occupied by the Birket el Kerun, or Lakeof the Horns, whose surface level is 140 ft. below that of the sea.The lake covers about 78 sq. m.

Differing from the typical oasis, whose fertility depends onwater obtained from springs, the cultivated land in the Fayumis formed of Nile mud brought down by the Bahr Yusuf. Fromthis channel, 15 m. in length from Lahun, at the entrance ofthe gap in the hills, to Medina, several canals branch off and bythese the province is irrigated, the drainage water flowing intothe Birket el Kerun. Over 400 sq. m. of the Fayum is cultivated,the chief crops being cereals and cotton. The completion ofthe Assuan dam by ensuring a fuller supply of water enabled20,000 acres of land, previously unirrigated and untaxed, to bebrought under cultivation in the three years 1903–1905. Threecrops are obtained in twenty months. The province is noted forits figs and grapes, the figs being of exceptionally good quality.Olives are also cultivated. Rose trees are very numerousand most of the attar of roses of Egypt is manufactured inthe province. The Fayum also possesses an excellent breedof sheep. Lake Kerun abounds in fish, notably thebulti (Nilecarp), of which considerable quantities are sent to Cairo.

Medinet el-Fayum (or Medina), the capital of the province,is a great agricultural centre, with a population which increasedfrom 26,000 in 1882 to 37,320 in 1907, and has several largebazaars, mosques, baths and a much-frequented weekly market.The Bahr Yusuf runs through the town, its banks lined withhouses. There are two bridges over the stream: one of threearches, which carries the main street and bazaar, and one of twoarches over which is built the Kait Bey mosque. Mounds northof the town mark the site of Arsinoë, earlier Crocodilopolis,where was worshipped the sacred crocodile kept in the Lakeof Moeris. Besides Medina there are several other towns in theprovince, among them Senuris and Tomia to the north of Medinaand Senaru and Abuksa on the road to the lake, all served by railways.There are also, especially in the neighbourhood of thelake, many ruins of ancient villages and cities. The Fayumis the site of theLake of Moeris (q.v.) of the ancient Egyptians—alake of which Birket el Kerun is the shrunken remnant.