The pyramid of Hawara lies about 10 kilometers east of Fayoum, in between Fayoum and Beni Suef, and is with its 58 meters height only one this of the famous Cheops pyramid. This pyramid was the last great pyramid built in Egypt. It is also less known and not discovered by tourist buses yet - if they have 20 people visiting, it is a good day. The pyramid looks a little dilapidated and eaten away by desert influences. The sign boards are old and hardly readable. The pyramid belongs to Amenemhat III and the entrance is on the South. This was done to confuse the robbers, who would expect the entrance to be on the North as usual.
King Amenemhat II regulated the water flow and developed agricultural resources in Fayoum, making it a flourishing region.

The pyramid was built of mud bricks, like the one on the picture underneath to the right, and they are much smaller and less time resistant than the huge stone ones used in Gizeh. The inside is of limestone but that is not visible yet. The outside used to be covered with limestone too, but that has disappeared completely, leaving the inside to vanish even faster according to the principles of a melting iceberg. Even though the pyramid is from 1800 BC (Middle Kingdom) and thus 700 years younger younger than the Gizeh pyramids, its state is far worse, so apparently either the materials were of lesser quality or the Fayoum climate is more harsh.
The archeologists, who wanted to enter into the chamber under the pyramid, had to give up fast because after 5 meters they were stopped by ground water. The remaining wealth of Amenemhat will be protected by this water for the time being, as it seems, and anyway, the robbers have been smart enough to enter through the South entrance long ago, because the tomb appeared to be removed.
On the same premises you will find what is known as the "Labyrinth", what used to be an enormous complex of (according to Herodotus) two layers of each 1,500 rooms on an area of 105,000 square meters. The first layer has disappeared, but the second layer is still there. Excavations have started but are waiting for money to finish it. Underneath is the top of one of the pillars, which has been found, just sticking out of the sand. Here you will recognize two crocodiles, as Sobek, the crocodile God, was favorite is Fayoum. According to a legend, king Menes went on a hunting trip at the lake Qarun around 3,000 BC, where his life was saved by a crocodile. Therefore, the lake was declared sacred to the crocodile and Sedet was found, later named "Crocodilopolis"; nowadays this is part of Fayoum City. The region was even called She Sobek, Lake of the Crocodile. The Kom Ombo temple is another tribute to this god, who used to be the creator of life in the Old Kingdom, but changed designations from time to time.

The two picture underneath to the left depict the necropolis, but you need a lot of imagination to see anything. Apparently, research was started but the money dried up. The sign board says "Tombs of nobles and officials during the reign of King Amenemhat III , some of them reused in Dynasty XVIII. Also there are tombs dated to Dynasty 20-26-30 and Ptolemaic period. A crocodile cemetery lies to the North East of the pyramid". The necropolis is nowadays cut in two halves by the canal, but this canal was only built about 120 years ago. In this necropolis in 1888, also the Portraits of Fayoum were found, which now can be admired in the Karanis museum in Fayoum as well as in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Below to the right is the entrance to the pyramid - a wooden shed with a secured entrance. You walk through the X-ray arch, but your bag is allowed to go around it and nobody even bothers to look inside. It is probably waiting for better days.