Sohag


Sohag, also spelled as Sawhāj, Suhag and Suhaj, is a city on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt. It has been the capital of Sohag Governorate since 1960, before which the capital was Girga and the name of the governorate was Girga Governorate. It also included Esna Governorate.

History

Until the 19th century there was only a village in the area. In 1960, the capital of the Governorate of Girga was transferred from the city of Girga to Sohag and the governorate was renamed accordingly. It is unclear how long this site has been inhabited. There are several mummies that date back to Roman times in the village. In Coptic times a community of monks lived at the White Monastery in the area.

Geography

Sohag lies on a fertile agricultural plain on the western bank of the Nile, approximately southwest of Akhmim. The city includes two islands; Karaman-ez-Zahur Island is larger and uninhabited, and ez-Zahur Island has some homes.

Economy

The city Sohag of itself encloses only a few archaeological sites, hence tourism represents but a small portion of the city's income. Other sources of income include trade, small industries of carpets, furniture, spinning and weaving and sugar. Administrative and educational services are two big sectors of income.

Demographics

Religion

and Christianity are the main religions in Sohag; about 75% of the population are Muslim..

Historical sites

Mosques

In the masonry on the eastern, southern and western sides are stones engraved with historical inscriptions moved from previous buildings, including a decree of the penultimate Mamluk sultan al-Ghawri from the year 1506 on the southeastern side.

Churches

Sohag has two important churches that were erected in the 20th century: the Church of the Holy Virgin and the Church of Saint George.

White Monastery

The Coptic White Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite. It is located about west of Sohag. The monastery's name is derived from the color of the white limestone in its outside walls. The surviving building is the church of what was once a much larger monastery complex.

Red Monastery

The Red Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after an Egyptian saint called Pishay. It is located about north of the White Monastery. The monastery's name is derived from the color of the construction material of its outside walls, consisting of red brick. The walls are considerably thicker at the base than at the top and, like the walls of Ancient Egyptian temples, they are surmounted by cavetto moldings. The Red Monastery is architecturally similar to the White Monastery.

Temples and cemeteries

Sohag is the site of a temple built for the goddess Repyt by Ptolemy XV Caesarion and subsequent Roman emperors. South of this temple was an earlier temple of Ptolemy IX Soter II. One of the nearby tombs of the brothers Ibpemeny "the younger" and Pemehyt of the late second century BC, has two zodiacs on its ceiling.

Subdivisions

Sohag is informally divided into the East District and the West District. Among the most notable regions of the West District are:
The East District is considered a more upscale district; it includes some of the most affluent neighborhoods of the city including 15th Street, Al Kashef Street, Jumhuriya Street, The Courts Compound, and The Technical and Agricultural Schools. Some of the most notable locales of the East District include:
The Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Sohag's climate as hot desert. Luxor, Minya, Sohag, Qena and Asyut have the widest difference of temperatures between days and nights of any city in Egypt, with almost difference. Sohag is one of the warmest places in Egypt due to its location on the eastern side of Sahara in North Africa. Sohag is ranked the 5th driest place in Egypt and the 9th globally. Also ranked 4th warmest place in Egypt and 296th globally.

Culture

Language

A version of the dialect continuum of Saidi Arabic is spoken by the people of Sohag. Most urbanized people, however, may speak to varying degrees Egyptian Arabic.

Museums

The Sohag Museum contains about 5,000 artifacts gathered from around the Sohag governorate, including items stretching from the Middle Kingdom to Greco-Roman times.

Bazaars

Souq el-Qisareya: The bazaar in Sohag is named suq Qaiṣarīya and is partly covered.
Souq el-Itnein is a weekly market held every Monday morning; vegetables, fruits, animals and traditional hand made objects are sold there. The weekly market is believed to have originated during the Ancient Egyptian era. The souq is now in the south of the city and is held in the streets and beside the city cemetery.

Transport

Sohag is linked to Giza and northern cities by the road of Asyut Western Desert, Eastern Desert Road and Rural Road, which also connects it to the railways.
In February 2010, a highway linking Sohag to the Red Sea city Hurghada was opened to ease movement between Upper Egypt and the Red Sea coastal region. In May 2010, the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated Sohag International Airport.
CityDistance
Alexandria692
Port Said691
Ismaïlia616
Suez605
Cairo471
Aswan428
Luxor205
Asyut98

Education

Educational establishments in Sohag include:
Primary schools:
Middle schools:
High schools:
is a public university with more than 40,000 students located on the eastern side of the city. It was established under the banner of South Valley University but became independent in 2006. There are currently ten colleges in Sohag University.

Sports

The most popular sport in Sohag is Association football. Sohag has many football clubs, including the Egyptian Premier League team Sohag FC. In addition, EPL club has El Gouna FC used Sohag stadium as a home ground at times.

Notable people

Notable people who originate from or live in Sohag include: