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 Facade of the Temple of Seti I in Abydos | |
no picture on Wikidata:  | |
| Sōhāg Governorate محافظة سوهاج | |
| Capital | Sōhāg |
|---|---|
| Residents | 4.967.409 (2017) |
| surface | 11,218 km² |
| Post Code | 82xxx |
| no postcode on Wikidata: | |
| prefix | 20 (0)93 |
| no area code on Wikidata: | |
| website | www.sohag.gov.eg |
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | |
| location | |
.svg/200px-Sohag_in_Egypt_(2011).svg.png) | |
The egyptian Governorate Sohag (Arabic:محافظة سوهاج, Muḥāfaẓat Sōhāǧ / Sauhāǧ) located in Middle Egypt. It borders the governorate to the north Asyūṭ, in the east to the governorate Red Sea, in the south to the governorate Qinā and in the west to the governorate New valley. The eastern part of the governorate extends into the Arabian desert. The administrative center is Sōhāg.
places
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With the exception of Achmīm and Sāqulta, the cities are on the west side of the Nile:
- 1 Ṭimā
, طما- District town with the Episcopal Church of St. Phoibammon of the soldier. - 2 Ṭahṭā, طهطا- The city is located 30 kilometers northwest of Sōhāg. The church of Quiricus and his mother Julitta is the only one in Egypt that is dedicated to these martyrs.
- 3 el-Marāgha, المراغة- District town with the Church of St. Barsum of the naked.
- 4 Guheina, جهينة- District town commemorating the battle against Napoleonic troops in 1799. With several churches and a rock grave cemetery.
- 5 Sāqulta, ساقلتة- District town with the
Monastery of Anba Thomas the Hermit and the eastern one Monastery of Anba Schinūda (Schenute) - 6 Sōhāg
, سوهاج- The capital of the governorate offers convenient starting points in the surrounding area. The city itself has two mosques that are worth seeing. - 7 Achmīm, أخميم- Not far from Sōhāg on the Nileast side, the city offers numerous testimonies from the Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic times. The most important monument is the statue of Meritamun, the wife of Ramses ’II.
- 8 Girgā, جرجا- For a long time the city was the most important center in Upper Egypt. The Islamic old town is still important.
- 9 el-Balyanā, البلينا- For a long time the city was only a transit station to the temples of Abydos. The construction of several hotels is planned here in the future.
Monastery of Anba Thomas the Hermit and the eastern one Monastery of Anba Schinūda (Schenute)
Other goals
Notes on the monuments from Pharaonic times
At the moment only the temples of Abydos and the excavation area of Achmīm (see above) are open to visitors. For all other sites you need a permit from the highest antiquities authority, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), in Cairo. There is hardly a governorate in which sightseeing opportunities are handled so restrictively - even if you only plan to tour from the outside. Really!
It is planned to make selected graves in el-Ḥawāwīsch, Nagʿ ed-Deir and Nagʿ el-Maschāyich accessible to visitors in the future.
West side of the Nile
North of Sōhāg
- Ṭimā, طما- District town (see under places).
- Ṭahṭā, طهطا- District town (see under places).
- el-Marāgha, المراغة- District town (see under places).
- Guheina, جهينة- District town (see under places).
- 1 Bāṣūna, باصونة- Village with a mosque in modern architecture.
East of Sōhāg
- 2 Red monastery, الدير الأحمر- North of the aforementioned monastery, it is very similar to him.
- 3 White monastery, الدير الأبيض- Even if you're short on time, this 5th century monastery is a must! The monastery was founded by the church father Schinūda (Schenute).
- 4 esch-Sheikh Ḥamad, الشيخ حمد- To the west of the hamlet are the ruins of the ancient Athribis.
South of Sōhāg
- 5 er-Raqāqna, الرقاقنة- village with church of St. George and mastaba tombs from the Old Kingdom.
- Girgā, جرجا- District town (see under places) with a beautiful Islamic old town.
- 6 Beit Challāf, بيت خلاف- There are several mastaba graves of the 3rd dynasty here.
- el-Balyanā, البلينا- District town (see under places)
- 7 Deir es-Sitt Damyāna, دير الست دميانة- The monastery, too Deir Abū Mūsā called, is located three kilometers northwest of Abydos.
- 8 Abydos, أبيدوس- The absolute highlight are of course the temples of Seti I and Ramses II from the New Kingdom. The early dynastic cemeteries and other cemeteries are not open to visitors.
- 9 Benī Ḥamīl, بني حميل- The village is one of the largest in the el-Balyanā area. The Great Mosque is located in the village.
East side of the Nile
North of Sōhāg
A short distance north of Sōhāg, but already to the governorate Asyūṭ belonging to:
- 10 el-Hammāmīya, الهمامية- Three rock tombs from the Old Kingdom are open to visitors.
- 11 ʿIzbat Yūsuf, عزبة يوسف- From the nearby street you can already take a look at the guest prince graves of Qāw el-Kabīr.
Then follow:
- Sāqulta, ساقلتة- East of the district town (see under places) are the eastern one 12 Monastery of Anba Schinūda (Schenute) and that 13 Monastery of Anba Thomas the Hermit
- 14 eṣ-Ṣawāmiʿa Sharq, الصوامعة شرق- On the northern edge of the village are the church of the monastery for Pachom and his sister Ḍālūschām (Deir el-Anbā Bāchūm wa-Uchtiha Ḍālūschām) and the monastery of Prince Tadros the Oriental.
- 15 es-Salāmūnī, السلاموني- Rock burial necropolis. The rock temple of Eje is certainly not uninteresting. In any case, you need a permit from the Supreme Antiquities Service in Cairo!
- 16 el-Kauthar, الكوثر- There are three monasteries in the city area: 17 Deir el-Malāk Mīchāʾīl (Monastery of the Archangel Michael), 18 Deir esch-Schuhadaʾ (Martyrs Monastery) and 19 Deir el-ʿAḏrāʾ (Monastery of the Holy Virgin).
- 20 el-Hawawish, الحواويش- Rock tombs of the Old Kingdom.
- Achmīm, أخميم- District town (see under places) with numerous testimonies from Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic times.
South of Sōhāg
- 21 Deir Mār Girgis el-Hadīdī, دير مار جرجس الحديدي- The monastery is located 10 kilometers south of Achmīm.
- 22 Deir el-Anbā Bisāda, دير الأنبا بسادة- The monastery is located 18 kilometers south of Achmīm.
- 23 Deir el-Malāk Mīchāʾīl, دير الملاك ميخائيل- The monastery of the Archangel Michael is at Girgā.
- 24 Nagʿ ed-Deir, نجع الدير- Village with early dynastic graves.
- 25 Nagʿ el-Maschāyich, نجع المشائخ- Rock tomb of In Felsenertmosi, New Kingdom.
background
Today's governorate, in particular the area around Abydos and Girgā, has always been an important, especially religious, center of ancient and modern Upper Egypt.
The area of today's governorate has been populated at least since the late pre-dynastic period. The most significant sites are Abydos and Achmīm. One of the most important cemeteries was laid out near the ancient city of Abydos, where the kings from the time of the unification of the empire were buried. The cemetery also plays an important role in the ancient Egyptian burial ritual: one of the last stations of the ritual was the ritual boat trip of the mummy or statue to this cemetery. Achmīm has also been inhabited continuously since prehistoric times. The graves around the city have been dug since the 4th dynasty.
The governorate experienced a significant boom in early Christian times, which can also be seen in the large number of monasteries founded here. The most important monastery founders include the church fathers Pachomius and Schenute, who lived in the fourth century AD. With them, community monasteries such as the white and Red monastery - in contrast to the associations of isolated hermits formed by Antonio the Great.
During the Islamic period, the cities of Girgā and Achmīm in particular emerged as economic centers.
Napoléon's armies were able to advance here in 1799. In the battle of Ǧuheina / Ǧiheina on April 10, 1799, they were defeated. This event is the occasion for the government holiday.
Until the time of the viceroy Muḥammad ʿAlī Pasha (Reign 1805-1848) Girgā was the capital of Upper Egypt and the later Girgā governorate. Muḥammad ʿAlī subdivided the administrative areas - i.e. Upper Egypt -, among other things, the significantly smaller and more insignificant gouvernement Girgā emerged and its capital moved to Sōhāg. The governorate was not renamed Sōhāg until 1960.[1]
Agriculture is the most important branch of the economy in the governorate. The main crop is sugar cane. The sugar cane is mainly processed in Girgā and el-Kauthar. After the revolution of 1952, a university was established in Sōhāg, which has been independent since 2006.
getting there
You can get there by bus, train or the 1 Sohag International Airport
(IATA: HMB).
Mobility and security
In December 2008 the compulsory convoy for Upper Egypt was largely abolished: from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. there is no longer any compulsory convoy. Convoys are still compulsory at night.
In the villages there are occasional family disputes, which are also fought at gunpoint. The police are rather helpless here. Avoid these places or get away from the disputes as quickly as possible. Under no circumstances should you get involved in these disputes or take sides on behalf of anyone.
holiday
On April 10th, the governorate's national holiday, the bloody defensive battle against the French occupying forces near Guheina / Giheina is remembered. The southernmost battle against the French troops took place here in 1799.
The battle of Guheina / Giheina is mostly English: battle of Géhémi or French: combat de Géhémi (Gehemi, Gehmi) called. Reached according to the French representation Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle (1775–1809), commander of the “22e demi-brigade de chasseurs à cheval ”, a light cavalry brigade, together with a cannon on April 10, 1799, on April 21. Germinal, the large village of Guheina, where an Arab army, armed with muskets, has already left the city Yanbuʿ el-Baḥr in what is now Saudi Arabia. Lasalle had the village surrounded and marched together with the 88th Infantry Brigade towards the Arab troops. The Arab troops withdrew behind a double fortification wall that they had built for this purpose and offered fierce resistance for several hours. The French troops broke through the walls and killed around 300 Arab soldiers. Around 1,000 to 2,000 Arab soldiers managed to escape into the desert.[2]
climate
Egypt belongs to the subtropical climate zone. This zone is characterized by a warm and dry desert climate.
| Sohag | Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean highest air temperature in ° C | 22 | 24 | 28 | 34 | 38 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 28 | 24 | O | 32.1 |
| Average air temperature in ° C | 14 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 20 | 15 | O | 23.5 |
| Mean lowest air temperature in ° C | 7 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 9 | O | 16.4 |
| Precipitation in mm | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Σ | 2 |
| Relative humidity in% | 57 | 50 | 44 | 36 | 30 | 31 | 37 | 43 | 45 | 44 | 51 | 56 | O | 43.7 |
Sohag, Egypt: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data, accessed November 17, 2009. | ||||||||||||||
Individual evidence
- ↑: Administrative subdivisions of countries: a comprehensive world reference, 1900 through 1998. Jefferson, NC [et al.]: McFarland, 1999, ISBN 978-0-7864-0729-3 , P. 114.
- ↑: Les bulletins de la grande armée précedés et accompagnés des rapport sur les armées françaises, de 1792 à 1815; Vol.2. Paris: Prieur, Dumaine, 1843, Pp. 373-375. — The field of Mars: being an alphabetical digestion of the principal naval and military engagements in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, particularly of Great Britain and her allies from the ninth century to the peace of 1801; Vol.1. London: G. & J. Robinson, 1801. Work without page counting, section EGY.
