The Fayoum as it is known is the only artificial oasis, created not by water springing forth from the ground but by a long canal, naturally formed by the flooding Nile, that dates from Biblical times, called Joseph’s canal. This stretches from the Nile to the great lake of Birket Qarun. It is this huge lake, which on a rough day looks very much like the sea that gives a special character to the Fayoum. The lake used to be a major place for duck hunting and the hotels on its southern shore hosted such luminaries as Winston Churchill and King Farouk as they took potshots at flying birds. Though there is still some duck shooting there is far more bird watching both on this lake and the nearby Wadi Rayyan another artificially created expanse of water.