Minya

Overview

Located roughly halfway between Asyut and Cairo , Minya is skipped by most travelers. The city of Minya is of considerable size, it has a university, and a fairly bustling atmosphere. As Minya is an area with a larger group of Christian, there have been clashes between them and militant Islamists. The latest of these, are not further away than February 1997.

The region is rich in archaeological interest: the tombs of Beni Hassan portray in dazzlingly vivid colors scenes of daily life in Ancient Egyptian times; Tel El Amama is the site of the capital built by Akhen Aton out of which he hoped his new monotheistic creed would radiate and convert the world; Tonna'l Gebel is the ancient Hermopolis; and El Ashmounein (Greater Hermopoles) still boasts relics of temples and shrines from the 19th Dynasty to the Christian era.

History