Faiyum (Arabic: الفيوم el-Fayyūm pronounced [elfæjˈjuːm], borrowed from Coptic: ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ Phiom or Phiōm from Ancient Egyptian: pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. Originally called Shedet in Egyptian, the Greeks called it in Koinē Greek: Κροκοδειλόπολις, romanized: Krokodilópolis, and later Medieval Greek: Ἀρσινόη, romanized: Arsinoë. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location.