Ahmed Farid El-Fayed’s Family, descendants of the Selim tribe live in buildings and houses nearest to the Sphinx and Great Pyramids, with their views overlooking the whole plateau of Giza. They have always been the Guardians of this legendary plateau, which have embraced the Sphinx and the three Pyramids for more than 5,000 years. Ahmed and his forefathers are the ones who hold the keys and secret
s to all these magical and spiritual sights within them. The journey of Ahmed Farid El Fayed, a 6th generation Egyptian Egyptologist begins with his birth on the 2nd of February 1983. Ahmed grew up in the shadow of the Great Pyramid in a village named Nazlet El-Samman, which lies within the embrace of the Sphinx. He remembers playing hide and seek around the Giza Necropolis as a child, and his village being his first school where he learned the story of his homeland Egypt, a history that goes back over 7,000 years or more. Nazlet El-Samman is an area located in the shadow of the mythical Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza. Nazlet El-Samman means ‘the descendant of the quail bird,’ and flocks of these birds used to land in this area during the seasonal bird immigration, and annual Nile Flood, which reached the paws of the Sphinx and the foot of the Pyramids. At the foot of the Pyramids, and below settled the early inhabitants of the area forming a small village which still exists today. Most of these people were, and are from the Al-Fayed Family. The Al-Fayed family in Egypt are the decedents of one of the largest, most powerful and influential Bedouin tribes in the Arabian and Western Deserts,
known as the “Selim,” and the family lived, and still live in Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, and Libya. Al-Fayed first travelled to Egypt, accompanied by the Fatimid’s, descendants of Fatima the daughter of the Prophet Mohammad who came to Egypt from Tunisia during the 9th Century. It was the Fatimid’s who founded the famous capital of Egypt. The Al-Fayed family settled first in the Eastern Delta, and from there they started moving and settling all over Egypt. The second wave of Al-Fayedimmigration to Egypt was when they came from the Libyian Desert during the 11th century A.D. and to this day the Al-Fayed family live all over Egypt in many governorateswithin Giza, Alexandria, Sharkia, Behaira, Gharbia, and Ismalia. It is registered that the Al-Fayed family played an important role in the political and military history of the Libyian, Arabian and Western Deserts in Egypt, especially during the time of the last Royal Egyptian Family. It is said that they occupied important posts in government, administration, and the army from the time of Mohammad Ali, the founder of the Royal Family in 1805 A.D, down to the end of the Royal Family at the time of King Farouk. Eventually through the passage of time allthe inhabitants of Nazlet El-Samman
became involved in, and earned their living from working in tourism. At that time
there were no schools in the area teaching history or languages, but they were intelligent enough to learn and speak all the different languages of the tourists who visited the area, and began to share the history of Ancient Egypt, which was passed down from father to son. They helped the visitors who came from the four corners of the earth to visit the magical sights of the Sphinx and the Pyramids, especially the Great Pyramid, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Treating the visitors as their guests, according to Arab tradition and hospitality they shared with them their homes, meals and family history and taught the guests the history of Egypt. They also got involved in and earned a living from assisting the early excavators, adventurers, and archaeologists who were digging in the area to reveal the secrets of Ancient Egypt.

Ahmed enjoys bringing Ancient Egyptian history to life, and now shares it with thousands of tourists who travel to his home land, giving them an authentic experience of his home. In 2006 Ahmed earned a Bachelor of Tourism Guidance and Egyptology at the University of Cairo, and is a member of the Syndicate of Tourist Guides. In 2010 he achieved a HR Diploma, and in 2011 was chosen to give lectures in New York City on the topic of “Unknown Egypt.”
During his lifetime in the travel industry he has worked across Tour Management, Travel Consultancy, and Training and Education. In his current position he works as a freelance English and Italian speaking Egyptologist ensuring the tradition of his forefathers is kept alive by taking his guests on a magical journey of the many aspects of Ancient Egypt including the “Untold” part of the story, and seeks to share his knowledge, experience and history through the eyes of six generations of Egyptian Egyptologists. Private guided tours.
