On the southeastern side of the depression is al-Fayyum, the capital of the mu?afa?ah, formerly Madinat .... squar al-fayyum

On the southeastern side of the depression is al-Fayyum, the capital of the mu?afa?ah, formerly Madinat al-Fayyum (City of the Fayyum). The present in the depression is sustained by a partial diversion of the Nile into the Yusuf (Ibrahimiyah) Canal, which follows the ancient channel of the Nile into the Fayyum, branching out to provide irrigation water. The brackish lake, occupying 85 square miles (220 square km), has been successfully stocked with saltwater fish, enabling a commercial-fishing industry to develop. Ptolemy II (285246 ) reduced the level of the lake to its present level, reclaiming much agricultural land. Al-Fayyum mu?afa?ah has an area of 705 square miles (1,827 square km). With the linking of al-Fayyum to the Nile valley by railroad (1874), the governorate's isolation was reduced and the way opened for development of the rich soils deposited by the Nile. The region has many ancient sites, including Shedet (later Crocodilopolis), chief centre for worship of t! he crocodile-god Sebek, near which al-Fayyum town now lies. A branch railway off the CairoAswan line serves the governorate, and narrow-gauge railways radiate from the capital into the countryside. squar al-fayyum