Al-Ashmunein and its Vicinity (An archeological and touristic study)
Radwa Ahmed Essam El Din Miligui;
Abstract
Introduction:
The study consists of four chapters, preceded by an introduction indicating that Middle Egypt is rarely included in most of the touristprograms which has negatively influenced the locals workingin the tourism sector.Al-Minyadidn’t get its suitable position in the tourist agenda due to the lack of tourist guides’ knowledge about this area.
Chapter One:
Chapter One addresses the monuments of Al-Ashmunein till the end of the Greaco-Roman era. El-Ashmunein was the capital of the 15th Nome of Upper Egypt “the Hare Nome” “wnt”. The city was known as “the city of eight” “#mnw” in ancient Egypt or “the city of the Hare” “Wnw”, in Greek “the city of Thoth-Hermes” “Ερμούπολίς”, or “εσμουν” and today it is called"Al-Ashmunein” “الأشمونين”.The first archeological map with a detailed description of Hermopolis is found in the French Description de l’Egypte by Jormard, a member of Napoleon’s Egyptian Expedition during 1798-1799. Although this plan provides a useful record of the state of the mounds at that time, the surface details are now so altered that the drawing is of historical value only.
During the Greco-Roman period the city of Hermes reached its largest extent, and the second century AD was the time of its greatest architectural splendor.The Egyptian temples of Al-Ashmunein continued to develop andwere decorated under the rule of the Roman Emperors.Unfortunately the site is now badly ruined, with small parts of temples surviving above the general rubble.Only the Roman period agora with its restored basilica is well preserved.
Chapter Two:
The necropolis of Hermopoliswas established to the south-west in a place called Tuna el-Gebel.It is not far from the stelae-borders of the left bank that was sculptured in the rock during the reign of Akhenaton quoting the consecration of the entire site to god Aton.
People come from all over Egypt to honor Thoth by dedicating a mummified ibis. In the catacombs hundreds of thousands of ibis mummies were buried from the Late Period until the early Roman period. There was a special section for baboons, the animal of Thoth.
Further south are the human tombs for the elite of Hermopolis. They are marked by a superstructure sometimes in stone, more often in brick. They usually take the shape of a temple or a house. Some are Hellenistic in date, others Romanbuilt in a mixed Egyptian-Greek style.The tomb of Petosiris at Tuna el-Gebel is the most famous one among these tombs, which was discovered in 1919 and excavated by Gustave Lefebvre.It contained the burials of five generations of his family, running from the 30th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic Period.
Chapter Three:
Chapter Three states the monuments of Antinoopolis that was founded in 130 AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian during his visit to Egypt, to honor his lover Antinoos, who drowned in the Nile.
Antinoopolis’ laws were derived from Greek traditions, and many of the first settlers were Greek. Lying across the Nile from Hermopolis, the city graduallybecame racially mixed, as Egyptians from the Faiyum region settled in its districts.
The pharaonic origins of Antinoopolis are represented by the remains of a temple, from the reign of Ramses II, to the north of the site.The Description plan of Antinoopolis shows extensive remains. The site had an orthogonal city plan.Several of the imperial buildings were still visible at the time of the Napoleonic expedition, but were demolished subsequently.
Chapter Four:
Chapter four studies the main obstacles that faces the tourism companies and tour guides on organizing a tourist program to Al-Minya in general and to Mallawi in particular. The study focused on the methods that can be used to develop tourism to these important sites and the required criteria for appropriate site planning.
Middle Egypt, located between Lower and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from BeniSuef in the north to Sohag in the south. This part is rarely included in most of the program tours which has negatively influenced the inhabitants working in the tourism sector.It seems that this part of land didn’t get its suitable position in the tourist agenda for the sake of security procedures, after suffering from several terrorist attacks.
The chapter contained a questionnaire filled by travel agencies to stand on the reasons why these agencies do not organize regular visits to the previous area. Another survey was directed to tour guides to know the main obstacles that they face when visiting Al-Minya.
The study consists of four chapters, preceded by an introduction indicating that Middle Egypt is rarely included in most of the touristprograms which has negatively influenced the locals workingin the tourism sector.Al-Minyadidn’t get its suitable position in the tourist agenda due to the lack of tourist guides’ knowledge about this area.
Chapter One:
Chapter One addresses the monuments of Al-Ashmunein till the end of the Greaco-Roman era. El-Ashmunein was the capital of the 15th Nome of Upper Egypt “the Hare Nome” “wnt”. The city was known as “the city of eight” “#mnw” in ancient Egypt or “the city of the Hare” “Wnw”, in Greek “the city of Thoth-Hermes” “Ερμούπολίς”, or “εσμουν” and today it is called"Al-Ashmunein” “الأشمونين”.The first archeological map with a detailed description of Hermopolis is found in the French Description de l’Egypte by Jormard, a member of Napoleon’s Egyptian Expedition during 1798-1799. Although this plan provides a useful record of the state of the mounds at that time, the surface details are now so altered that the drawing is of historical value only.
During the Greco-Roman period the city of Hermes reached its largest extent, and the second century AD was the time of its greatest architectural splendor.The Egyptian temples of Al-Ashmunein continued to develop andwere decorated under the rule of the Roman Emperors.Unfortunately the site is now badly ruined, with small parts of temples surviving above the general rubble.Only the Roman period agora with its restored basilica is well preserved.
Chapter Two:
The necropolis of Hermopoliswas established to the south-west in a place called Tuna el-Gebel.It is not far from the stelae-borders of the left bank that was sculptured in the rock during the reign of Akhenaton quoting the consecration of the entire site to god Aton.
People come from all over Egypt to honor Thoth by dedicating a mummified ibis. In the catacombs hundreds of thousands of ibis mummies were buried from the Late Period until the early Roman period. There was a special section for baboons, the animal of Thoth.
Further south are the human tombs for the elite of Hermopolis. They are marked by a superstructure sometimes in stone, more often in brick. They usually take the shape of a temple or a house. Some are Hellenistic in date, others Romanbuilt in a mixed Egyptian-Greek style.The tomb of Petosiris at Tuna el-Gebel is the most famous one among these tombs, which was discovered in 1919 and excavated by Gustave Lefebvre.It contained the burials of five generations of his family, running from the 30th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic Period.
Chapter Three:
Chapter Three states the monuments of Antinoopolis that was founded in 130 AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian during his visit to Egypt, to honor his lover Antinoos, who drowned in the Nile.
Antinoopolis’ laws were derived from Greek traditions, and many of the first settlers were Greek. Lying across the Nile from Hermopolis, the city graduallybecame racially mixed, as Egyptians from the Faiyum region settled in its districts.
The pharaonic origins of Antinoopolis are represented by the remains of a temple, from the reign of Ramses II, to the north of the site.The Description plan of Antinoopolis shows extensive remains. The site had an orthogonal city plan.Several of the imperial buildings were still visible at the time of the Napoleonic expedition, but were demolished subsequently.
Chapter Four:
Chapter four studies the main obstacles that faces the tourism companies and tour guides on organizing a tourist program to Al-Minya in general and to Mallawi in particular. The study focused on the methods that can be used to develop tourism to these important sites and the required criteria for appropriate site planning.
Middle Egypt, located between Lower and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from BeniSuef in the north to Sohag in the south. This part is rarely included in most of the program tours which has negatively influenced the inhabitants working in the tourism sector.It seems that this part of land didn’t get its suitable position in the tourist agenda for the sake of security procedures, after suffering from several terrorist attacks.
The chapter contained a questionnaire filled by travel agencies to stand on the reasons why these agencies do not organize regular visits to the previous area. Another survey was directed to tour guides to know the main obstacles that they face when visiting Al-Minya.
Other data
| Title | Al-Ashmunein and its Vicinity (An archeological and touristic study) | Other Titles | الأشمونين وما حولها دراسة أثرية سياحية)) | Authors | Radwa Ahmed Essam El Din Miligui | Issue Date | 2015 |
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