7 Best Sights in Cairo, Egypt

This small village overlooking Qarun Lake is often referred to as Eastern Switzerland. Evelyne Porret, a Swiss potter, moved to the village in the 1980s and established a pottery school that is still open today. With it, she transformed the villagers’ lives. The school, along with a country house, formed a compound that became the center of the town. Today, Tunis Village is home to the workshops of some of the country’s best potters, as well as some eco-lodges and contemporary restaurants.

There are no grandiose temples or legends of conquests here. Instead, you stand in the desert expanse alongside 40-million-year-old whale skeletons. Wadi al-Hitan, or Valley of the Whales, is home to the earliest prehistoric fossils ever discovered. It provides a glimpse of the land before Egypt ever was. The desert sand is littered with invaluable fossils that tell an evolutionary story.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site located 24 miles (40 km) into the Fayyum desert is best accessed in a private four-wheel-drive vehicle and with a guide who knows the terrain. The on-site Wadi Hitan Fossil & Climate Change Museum explains the geological and paleontological significance of this protected area through a display of fossils and a short documentary. Although named after the whale remains on the site, Wadi al-Hitan is also flush with the remains of other ancient sea creatures including sharks, crocodiles, and turtles. As it's far from the lights of the city, this protected area is sometimes used as a camping site for stargazing trips.

Despite the remains of bathrooms, cooking facilities, and houses, some of which are decorated with frescoes, it's hard to believe that Karanis was once populated by thousands. This Greco-Roman town 25 km (15 miles) north of the city of Fayyum was founded by Ptolemy II's mercenaries in the 3rd century BC. Today, its main attraction is a temple dating from the 1st century BC and dedicated to two crocodile gods, Petesuchs and Pnepheros. At its east entrance, a large square depression is all that's left of the pool that would have been reserved for the sacred creatures. Inside, niches where mummified crocs would have been interred are still visible, as are some wall inscriptions.

A small >museum at the entrance to the site displays two of the famed Fayyum portraits—painted funerary masks laid over the faces of linen-covered mummies. The collection also includes statuary, relief fragments, and a few everyday objects, as well as Coptic and Islamic textiles and ceramics. Some items were unearthed here, others were found elsewhere in the Fayyum and Egypt.

Medinet el-Fayyum, the capital and the largest city of the Fayyum Governorate, was once a place of worship for the crocodile god, Sobek, inspiring the Greeks to name the city Crocodilopolis. Today, it sits 7 meters (22 meters) above sea level, and eight canals provide it with water. Traces of ancient Mamluk and Ottoman architecture can be found in some of its downtown mosques, and the lively city center hosts bazaars and markets weekly. The city's iconic attractions, however, are its four waterwheels. They were first introduced during the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BC), and you can hear them amid the honking of horns and the rush of traffic. There are waterwheels elsewhere in the Fayyum as well.

Little is known of the town that was originally named Dja and is situated 35 km (22 miles) southwest of the city of Fayyoum. It was founded during the reign of Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV (1855–1799 BC) and remained extant during the New Kingdom (1550–1077 BC) era, after which it was abandoned. Revived during the Ptolemaic Dynasty and renamed Narmouthis, the town grew and was occupied even after the Muslim conquest of Egypt, before being abandoned once and for all.

Because Medinet Madi, the so-called City of the Past, is somewhat is isolated it provides an unmatched intimate experience. You can wander its Middle Kingdom temples, some of them remarkably well preserved, dating from the 12th Dynasty and adorned with hieroglyphic inscriptions.

The precariously perched kilns that dot the ravine at the edge of this village are a spectacular sight to behold. Specialized pots, such as the bukla, a squat vessel with a skewed mouth, are made here, but all are sold at markets in Medinet el-Fayyum.

Surprisingly, Egypt’s largest waterfalls stand in the middle of the desert about 65 km (40 mile) southwest of the city of Fayyum. Embodying the region's natural beauty, this national park consists of seven main regions: El Rayan Falls, El-Modawara Mountain, the upper lake, the lower lake, El Rayyan Springs, El Rayyan Mountain, and Wadi al-Hitan. There’s a lot to see, so hiring a local guide is encouraged.

Silky sand dunes surround tranquil blue water that is itself framed by flora. El-Modawara Mountain provides breathtaking panoramas. The area's rich wildlife includes Egyptian gazelles and different kinds of foxes. With more than 169 species of birds—some migrants, some local—it’s also a bird-watcher’s paradise.