FAYOUM OASIS /
Qasr el-Sagha
In between the petrified remains of a thick forest from antiquity, and on an outlying scarp of the Qatrani Mountain, lies a temple now called Qasr el-Sagha. We do not know to which god or gods it was intended to be dedicated. Since it never was completed, there is a total lack of friezes and inscriptions. Its date has been set to no later than the Middle Kingdom. This can be seen from its plan, but the construction technique is unique in Egypt. The blocks used are irregularly shaped, but have corners and angles that fit together as a jigsaw. By this the structure is held together, but it calls for more imagination: It resembles an Inca stucture of South America. It appears that there were no nearby settlements to the temple, but there were villages in prehistoric times on a flat plain to the south.
