Home
 Classical Egypt
 Red Sea Riviera 
 News & Events
 Weather
 Contact Us
 Booking
  Travel Agents



 • Hermopolis
    Magna
 • Temple of     Petosiris
 • Temple of
    Isidora
 • The Water     Wheel
 • Tell
    Al-Armarna
 • Beni Hassan

 • Hotels
 • Photos
 

 

Al-Minya


The capital of the province is Al-Minya, also called "Bride of Upper Egypt", is situated 250 km south of Cairo marking the threshold between Upper and Lower Egypt. Al-Minya with it's 150,000 inhabitants is the centre of cotton trade and sugar processing, offering it's visitors a facinating view into the colourful oriental life.

 

Al-Minya

    Hermopolis Magna (Ashmounein)
Hermopolis Magna is situated 45 km south of Al-Minya on the west bank of the Nile. It was the capital of the 15th Upper Egyptian district, where god Thoth was worshipped by it's inhabitants. This historical city is also the native place of the prehistoric gods, of which Khnum was one of the eight all powerful deities of the primordial chaos that preceded creation, and this city was believed to be where the sun first rose over the earth.

Old Basilica

It contains a huge complex of corridors and galleries containing thousands of embalmed ibis birds and baboons, held sacred by the god Thoth.

             Tomb-Temple of Petosiris
This tomb was constructed as a family tomb for Petosiris, a High Priest, living about 300 BC. This monument is of special historic value.

Temple of Petosiris

This tomb dwelling was equipped with a complete home outfit and is covered by some frescoes.

                 An Old Water Wheel
The water wheel, also called Sakija, was still functioning when it was discovered. It was built in the Roman period to bring up water from a depth of 40 metres. It was the only source of water for the priests, workers and sacred baboons in the whole necropolis.



God Thoth

But the city also welcomes every visitor with it's friendly inhabitants, beautiful places and wide promenades along the river Nile, measures about 1km in width at Al-Minya. Furthermore, a mosque of the Fatimid period, the so called Lamati mosque and a museum are to be visited in Al-Minya. Besides that, the city is also suitable as a starting point for visiting Beni Hassan, Tell Al Amarna, Hermopolis Magna and Tunah Al-Gebel.                

Tomb of Petosiris

Present day Al-Ashmunyn still contains the remains of an old basilica worth visiting.

                         Tunah Al-Gebel
Al-Ashmunyn's necropolisis located 10 km west of Hermopolis Magna. The overall impression is marked by a mixed style of tomb temples and burial chapels, settled around the Temple of Petosiris, which developed into a real city of the dead.

God Thoth

Hardly any of the other Egyptian monuments show the mixture of two cultures depicting Egyptian farming scenes while wearing Greek dresses, like this tomb. The wooden coffin of Petosiris was transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where it can be seen in the main entrance hall.

               Tomb-Temple of Isidora
Isidora was a daughter of a Ptolemaic High Priest.

Tomb of Isadora

Top

Copyright © 2005 - Go To Egypt - All Rights Reserved

Design by Weird Creations Limited