El Minya City | Land of The Dead

• 16 / 5 / 2023

El Minya City

As a matter of fact, El Minya is known as the "Bride of Upper Egypt" for the historical, cultural, and archaeological richness that it possesses. It is located about 245 kilometers south of Cairo, on the banks of the Nile River. It dates back to the Pharaonic age and showcases the ancient heritage while being very much modern in the day-to-day life.

El Menia, or Minya, which is called the Land of the Dead, is located about 240 kilometers south of Cairo. The ancient Egyptian name was (Must Khufu), which means the nurse of Khufu. El Minya, Egypt, was considered the 16th nome of Upper Egypt, which is the Oryx nome because of the antelope that inhabited the area. It was famous for the cotton industry. 

During the Middle Kingdom, El Menia flourished as the governors of the Middle Kingdom started to build their tombs on the eastern bank of the Nile, which was an unusual thing because they used to build their tombs on the west as they considered the west the place of the dead, but they changed to the east due to the good quality of the stone, and the natural mountains on the east will preserve their tombs from any cracking or destruction. The village of Bani Hasan houses 390 rock-cut decorated tombs from the Middle Kingdom. The Speos Artemidos was a temple built by Queen Hatshepsut.

Tell El Amarna

Akhetaten, or Tel El Amarna, was the capital city built by king Akhenaten and dedicated to the god Aten. Akhenaten lived there together with his wife, Queen Nefertiti, his daughters, and his followers, who were seeking a monotheistic religion. The glorious remains of their palaces, temples, and tombs beside his royal tomb still exist today. After his death, the priests of Amen destroyed the city of Akhenaten, including the city he built.

Other significant archaeological sites in the governorate of Minya include Deir Abu Hines, Deir el-Bersha, El-Sheikh Sa'id, and Tuna el-Gebel. El Ashmunein (Hermopolis Magna) was the main center of worship of the god Thoth. The tomb chapel of Petosiris was found in Tuna el-Gebel. The Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Gebel el-Teir is one of the important Christian churches in the city of Samalut, which was built by Empress Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, where the Holy Family stayed during their flight to Egypt.

Nile Valley

Minya Governorate is regarded as the Bride of Upper Egypt and is among the governorates of Egypt.

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