Summary

• Minya, often called the “Bride of Upper Egypt,” is a city rich in history, culture, and archaeological wonders.
• Nestled along the Nile, it has been a vital center since ancient times, playing key roles in the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, and Islamic eras.
• The city boasts magnificent tombs, such as Beni Hasan, historic monasteries, and remnants of Greek and Roman settlements. With a diverse architectural heritage, Minya has evolved from an agricultural hub into a modern city while preserving its deep-rooted traditions.
• From ancient temples to colonial-era mansions, Minya remains a fascinating destination, offering travelers a glimpse into Egypt’s enduring legacy.

Minya City is a golden wonder gifted with the bliss of the heavens that will reveal a great combination of natural, historical, artistic, religious, and archaeological milestones that bring to life the evolution of the ancient Egypt civilization over more than 5,000 years.

Minya is one of the most beautiful cities of Egypt that open the door discovering the wonders of this beautiful city will be the quest of a lifetime where every traveler will get to shed light on some of the greatest living miracles in the history of the world which were cultivated with the help of celestial and ethereal creatures and figures that wished to immortalize their names and legacy. The enchanting divine nature of Minya City will provide a complete travel experience that will display a whole new aspect of this glorious civilization.

The Blessed Location Of Minya City

The shining Minya City is found in the magical city of Upper Egypt, with an area of 15.0 km2 (5.8 sq mi), which is found across the west bank of the Nile River, which is 245 km (152 mi) on the southern part of Cairo. Minya is situated between two mountain ranges, approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) high, and is far from both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is famous for being one of the cities that possesses a high concentration of churches and Coptic Christians.

The Beautiful Climate Of the Marvelous Minya City

Minya holds a hot desert climate, which is characterized by high temperature variations between day and night, with nearly 16°C (29°F) between daytime and nighttime temperatures. During the summer, Minya can see scorching temperatures of up to 40°C (104°F), while winter brings nighttime temperatures dropping below freezing, occasionally resulting in frost formation. This geographical positioning contributes to the city’s substantial temperature contrast between summer and winter.

Discover the Origin and Many Names & Etymology Of Minya City

The current Arabic name of the city comes from Coptic roots with Bohairic and Sahidic languages, which also comes from ancient Greek, which means station, stopping place, and monastery. The city of modern Minya has been identified as the golden ancient Egyptian settlement of Men’at Khufu because of the close resemblance of the two names, but modern Egyptologists deny this theory because of a clear etymology of the Greek language. The city of Minys was declared the bride of Upper Egypt due to its ideal strategic spot found in Middle Egypt, which was a vital connection between the south and north of Egypt.

Learn About the History Of the Immortal Minya City

The great history of the golden city of Minya dates to the predynastic period when it was part of the unified Egypt under pharaoh Menes in 3100 BC, which was known as the 16th district, which gained the name of the Oryx nome. With time, its capital became an important spot found on a highly important route leading to the Red Sea. At the end of the Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BC) in the first intermediate period, all rulers of the Oryx nome were blessed with autonomy and wealth due to the influence of the district of Minya, which enabled them to ally with all the powerful Theban people under Baqet III.

Even after the same Theban conquest, the family of rulers had the same alliance to a great advantage, and even the Oryx Nome reached peak power during the eleventh dynasty. These rulers, like the pharaohs, chose to carve their tombs within the eastern desert limestone cliffs that overlooked the Nile River. All the tombs found in the area, like the ones found in Beni Hasan, are able to provide magnificent, enriching insight into the daily life and history of these pharaohs, nobles of ancient Egypt, and the common society. During the 12th dynasty, Pharaoh Amenemhat II (1929–1895 BC) decreased the power and influence of the rulers of Oryx in the final days of the dynasty.

In the Second Intermediate Period from 1700 to 1550 BC, all the lands of Middle and Lower Egypt, including the land of Oryx came under the influence and control of the forces of the Hyksos. It is worth knowing that the rulers of the Oryx supported the Hyksos against the native ancient Egyptian rulers at that time, as the first major battle against the Hyksos took place in the Oryx nome, with the Hyksos being defeated by Kamose in 1552 BC. This victory was the reason behind the triumph of Ahmose I, who was successful in expelling the Hyksos from the lands and waters of Egypt in 1540 BC. The Beni Hassan Tombs were destroyed and shaped into dwellings, which were quarried for stone, which were damaged by early Christians and Muslims following the fall of Pharaonic Egypt.

During the Greco-Roman age (305 – 30 BC), which was founded in Middle Egypt had a number of extensive Greek settlements, which had a great population of 20,000 to 40,000 people due to the Roman conquest of Egypt. During that time period, Minya transformed into a major Egyptian Cotton Trade. El Ashmunein a.k.a “Hermopolis Magna” acted as the regional capital and a major center of worship for one of the most famous ancient Egyptian gods, the god of Writings and knowledge, Thoth, featuring ruins of a Greek temple reminiscent of the Parthenon.

One of the finest monuments found near a modern city village of the great Tuna el-Gebel is the tomb and chapel of Petosiris. Roman Emperor Hadrian established Antinoöpolis in marvelous memory of his eromenos Antinous in 130 AD, following the Egyptian tradition of deifying the drowned individual who later was seen as a god. At that time, Egypt was populated with Greeks from all corners of Egypt. In the Byzantine era, in the city near Samalut, the Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Gebel el-Teir, Empress Helena, who was the mother of Constantine the Great, built its church in 328 AD on a site believed to have been visited by the Holy Family during their Flight into Egypt. The Oxyrhynchus was a very influential and vital administrative center in the Hellenistic age, which gained fame as a marvelous archaeological site for Byzantine Egyptian papyri.

In the Abbasid Rule, Minya came under the rule of a powerful ruler Ibn Khasib, in the early 9th century, who chose it as his center for retirement and final resting place, which was a reward from his caliph for his good achievements and deeds. Minya evolved from a large village into a thriving medieval city, earning it the name “Munyat ibn Khasib.”

In the 10th and 11th centuries, during the Fatimid caliphate, the city grew and developed incredible infrastructure in the shape of schools, mosques, public paths, and markets. The two most notable mosques built include EL-Lamaty and EL-Amrawy mosques. The city of Minya was even mentioned by the famed medieval traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited & explored Minya and was highly impressed by the greatness of the city during his travel account “The Rihla,” which praised Minya city for its advanced educational institutions that surpassed all other cities in Upper Egypt.

The magnificence and importance of the city of Minya grew rapidly due to its fertile lands of agricultural production, as there were a great number of sugar cane and cotton plantations. The back-then rulers Ismail made his royal residence and began to modernize the entire city in 1870; one of their modernized projects included the creation of the Ibrahimiya Cana,l which was built in 1873 to provide irrigation to Ismail’s lands found in the western part of the city of Minya, leading to urban development. The city was also filled with various forms of transportation, which included bridges over the canal, which facilitated the haphazard growth of housing on private agricultural lands in the western suburbs.

One unique historical fact about the city is that the demand for Egyptian cotton surged, thus benefiting Minya during the American Civil War in 1861. The city transformed into a major world producer of high-quality cotton, which led to the creation of an influx of wealth that established a new upper class, which led to the development of the Colonial part of the city, which is marked by magnificent palaces and houses designed by renowned Italian architects.

In the early days of the 20th century, Minya city entered a new wave of a construction boom and expansion that was marked by the building of a railway connection to Cairo. The city transformed into an international hub of commercial trade as the British government became a consulate to promote cotton trade, and also the Ottoman Bank created a branch in the city around 1907. With the growth of the city came the creation of an incredible infrastructure, like the fire department, city council, courthouse, and administration building.

The decline of the city of Minya took place after the 1952 revolution and the Suez Crisis of 1956, followed by nationalizing industries in 1957, which led the Greek and Armenian communities to leave Minya. In the 60s and 70s, a number of housing projects took place and many New roads and infrastructure transformed the city, thus creating the current modern image of Minya.

Cast Your Eyes On the Marvelous Archaeological Treasures of Minya City

The city has a rich archaeological background, as in the 70s the Gnostic Codex Tchacos was discovered, which holds the Judas Gospel with three ancient books found in an incredible limestone box. About 50 mummy collections were discovered in 201,9, which included magnificent stone coffins and wooden sarcophagi that date back to the Ptolemaic period at the Tuna El-Gebel area. 12 graves of children were discovered in a deep burial chamber.

This discovery was announced by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in January 2020, showcasing a gathering of graves of elder officials and clergy dedicated to the god Djehuty “Thoth” at Tuna el-Gebel. The discovery is made of about 16 tombs, 20 coffins, five limestone sarcophagi with hieroglyphic texts, and 5 well-preserved and fully intact wooden coffins. Again in 2020, a cemetery from the 26th dynasty at a site called Oxyrhynchus revealed several bronze coins, small crosses, tombstones, and clay seals found inside 8 Roman-era tombs with unmarked and domed roofs.