The Land of the Pharoah - Finale

Grapes, as far as the eye can see.....

Fayoum Orchard

Looks yummy..and cheap tooo (5 Genih or egyptian pound per kilo, equivalent to RM 3.50/kg)

Can I have one Ummi, they look delicious....

Qarun Lake, Ummi managed to capture the sunset with such panache :) Our last destination in Egypt is Fayoum, the largest oasis in Egypt. There are a lot of agriculture activities here. In the story of Prophet Yusuf, he interpreted the king's dream (seven weak cows devouring seven fat ones, seven green ears of corn being replaced by seven dry ones). This was believed to be the place where the farmers grew their crops in the seven years of prosperity before the seven years of severe and dreadful famine.

Ever heard the story of Qarun? We were lucky to have visited the temple of Qarun which is located near Fayoum. From the outside it is a very simple form with complete rectangular box shape and slightly tilted walls. Its interior is easily distinguished by a maze of rooms and staircases, all leading to the roof. This is the main part of the attraction, since only few of Egyptian temples have roofs and only few are accessible to the top. There is not much to see inside the temple, since all the interior are gone, except for a few remaining scriptures above the doors. On the way to this temple, we met with TV3 crews and the famous Jejak Rasul host, Ahmad Noor Sulaiman. Everybody were so excited, because it was not easy to meet them face to face. They were shooting for Jejak Rasul and they interviewed Abi and Tok. Don't forget to watch Jejak Rasul this Ramadhan ok.

The most popular story is that the lake and the temple take their name from an individual who's supposed to have lived in the area and duly mentioned in the Quran (al-Qasas 76). In the Quran, Qarun was appears as a man “too absorbed with his own richness”. He was being ungrateful to Allah. Qarun said the all the richness and wealth he accumulated was because of the knowledge he possessed. Qarun finally meets the wrath of Allah, again by being swallowed up by the earth. It is a well known story in Egypt. Some believe that his treasure is still hidden somewhere under the water of the lake. So, anybody game for bouts of treasure hunt just gimme a holler....hehe

Qarun Lake also situated in Fayoum area where you can see different kinds of birds...(no Lochness monster or the likes...sigh). Qarun lake is considered the oldest natural lake in the world, the third largest lake in Egypt. It is considered an interior lake that is not related to any sea or and rivers and an area of around 53 thousands acres in Fayoum Down. We had our seafood dinner at one of the restaurants nearby the lake and really enjoyed the sunset view.

The temple of Qarun

With Ahmad Noor, Jejak Rasul host

With Abi at the rooftop of Qarun Temple

Gateway within the temple Inside Qarun temple Back in Cairo, we also visited the Asfour Gallery. As all Mommies and my lady friends would already know, Asfour is a very famous brand for crystal throughout the world. There were a lot of chandeliers and I must say it was very interesting gallery. I did not bought anything because it was too expensive....although Ummi managed to coerce Abi into parting with stacks of Egyptian pound notes to take home some small souvenier...just brooch and the likes.

Asfour Gallery