Faiyum has been inhabited since Pharaonic times. The town is full of traditional souks and sites including the Hanging Mosque and the Qaitbay Mosque; curious rarities in Egypt and the Islamic world, they were built without minarets. One of the main treats of Faiyum is the area that surrounds the town itself, the Valley of Whales at Wadi al-Hitan. This World Heritage Site boasts spectacular scenery; it’s also the site of the discovery of hundreds of fossils belonging to early forms of whale, sharks and crocodiles. Whole whale skeletons can be seen in the sands around Faiyum
