Minya

Minya is a city in Middle Egypt. Usually overlooked by tourists, this city has a long history and some interesting heritage to explore. It is home to over 250,000 people and lies about 245 km south of Cairo. Its strategic location in central Egypt has gained it the nickname Bride of Upper Egypt. It's a centre of Christianity in the country, as half of the town's inhabitants are reported to be Coptic Christians.

Understand
Minya was once an autonomous city-state that transformed into a nome or district of ancient Egypt called Oryx under the rule of Menes in its earliest recorded times. Then it became known as Menat Khufu as a tribute to Pharaoh Khufu who built the Great Pyramid of Cheops. From there, it went through alliances with Thebans and then the Hyksos, which didn't end up working out too well since the native Egyptian pharaohs gave the Hyksos a thrashing around 1540 BC and didn't do Minya many favors in the process. All that remains of the ancient civilization of Menat Khufu are these tombs that the rulers carved into some cliffs in nearby Beni Hasan since they were to poor to build pyramids.

Ancient Greece and Rome subsequently made their mark on the area, with settlements and cotton cultivation. The Roman Emperor Hadrian even had a separate city called Antinoöpolis built along the Nile nearby in memory of his eromenos Antinous. In 328 AD, the mother of Constantine had the Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Gebel el-Teir constructed on a site where the Holy Family was thought to have stayed during their flight from Herod.

And then, the Arabs established their presence by turning Minya into a robust medieval city complete with stately mosques and schools from about the 10th century on. Modern times saw it develop with some colonial-style architecture and separation into two districts, but then fall into a state of decay on account of the revolution of 1952, the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the subsequent nationalization of many industries from 1957.

Get in
There is the option of driving or taking the train from Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, etc, as Minya has one train station connected to Egyptian National Railways, though English assistance might not be available:

Eat

 * Arkhan Restaurant - in Grand Aton Hotel
 * Arkhan Restaurant - in Grand Aton Hotel

Stay safe
As foreign tourist, be prepared for the possibility that the security/police might stop you when you want to leave your hotel and make you wait until the mobile tourist police arrives to accompany you for your protection.

Go next

 * Beni Hasan is like a 45 km drive south of Minya, on the east bank of the Nile.