Fodor's Expert Review Medinet el-Fayyum

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.