0.2 Places in egypt: middle egypt  (Page 3/2)

Abīdūs, ma’bad

Alternative Names: Abydos

Latitude/Longitude: 26° 10' 50" N/031° 54' 57" E

This important site is 300 miles south of Cairo, on the western side of the Nile. It is most often referred to as the “home” of Osiris, god of the dead andthe underworld, and served as a place of pilgrimage for thousands of years. Egypt’s earliest rulers are buried here, and it is the birthplace of both Egyptian writingand the boat burial cult. One of the temples was begun by Seti I and continued by his son Ramesses II, but the most remarkable aspect of Abydos is the Osireion, thesymbolic tomb of Osiris.

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Al-fayyūm

Alternative Names: Shedit; Medinat Fayum; Médinat el-Fayoum; Madīnet el Faiyūm; Fayyum: Fayyoum; Fayum; Fayoum; Fayoom; El Faiyûm; Crocodilopolis; Arsinoë

Latitude/Longitude: 29° 18' 28" N/030° 50' 24" E

A region situated on the western side of the Nile, south of Cairo, known for its fertile land; it produces cereals, dates, roses, and even olives. InPharonic times the region was the center for the worship of Sobek, the crocodile god, and the Greeks referred to the region as Crocodilopolis. Later called Arsinoeby the Romans, it was both the seat of the Episcopal see and a large center of early Egyptian Christian life until the Copts surrendered the city to one of Muhammad’slieutenants in 642. The region features 200 waterwheels built in Ptolemaic times, which are not found in any other region of Egypt, as well as numerous Copticmonasteries.

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• Fayum Villages Project: The Fayum

Asyūt

Alternative Names: Siut; Lycopolis ; Līkūpūlīs ; Licopolis ; Assuit; Assiut ; Assiout

Latitude/Longitude: 27° 10' 58" N/ 031° 10' 58" E

First settled in Pharaonic times, this city was later renamed Lycopolis by the Greeks because of the local importance of the Jackal gods Wepwawet andAnubis; the mummified remains of many wolves have been found there, and a legend recounts that wolves attacked and repelled an invading army of Ethiopians. As aregional capital, it was the final resting place of numerous governing officials; their tombs are hollowed out of nearby hills, which also served as homes for earlyChristian hermits.