FaiyÛm, or Fayum, both, an Egyptian oasis in the Libyan Desert. It is about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Cairo. Since ancient times the FaiyÛm has been irrigated by the Bahr Yusef, a dry bed of the Nile made into a canal. Cotton, rice, sugar, olives, figs, and grapes are grown in the oasis. Birket Qârûn, a lake to the northwest, occupies part of the ancient Lake Moeris, which was used as a vast reservoir by the ancient Egyptians to store the waters of the Nile.
Many archeological remains have been found in the FaiyÛm, including a 3,000-room labyrinth and many papyrus scrolls in ancient Egyptian and in Arabic. A present-day province named FaiyÛm covers 692 square miles (1,792 km2). Its capital is El FaiyÛm, with a population of 250,000.
