Archaeological site · Egypt
Tuna el-Gebel
تونا الجبل
Necropolis of Hermopolis in Minya with the tomb of the high priest Petosiris, the tomb of Isadora and catacombs of animals sacred to Thoth.
Where it is
27.7365, 30.7042
Why go
Tuna el-Gebel, in Minya governorate, is where Hermopolis, the city of the god Thoth, buried its dead. Ministry-led visits centre on the decorated tomb of the high priest Petosiris and on the tomb of Isadora, followed by the catacombs where birds and animals sacred to Thoth were interred. The cemetery is still being excavated: a joint Ministry and Minya University mission has opened Ptolemaic rock-cut family burial chambers full of mummies, and a small limestone royal sphinx came to light at Kom al-Louly.
Near Tuna el-Gebel
Archaeological site
Beni Hasan Tombs
Middle Kingdom rock-cut tombs of the Oryx-nome governors near Minya, painted with wrestling, crafts, hunting and daily life.
27 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Red Monastery
A historic monastery near Sohag known for its decorated church and red-brick construction.
159 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Medinet Madi (Narmouthis)
Desert-edge temple town in the southwest Fayoum with a rare inscribed Middle Kingdom temple, sphinx-lined avenues and later temples.
162 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
White Monastery (Monastery of St Shenoute)
Fifth-century Church of St Shenoute west of Sohag, head house of a monastic federation that included the Red Monastery.
163 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ