El-Minsha (west bank of the Nile), a large village on the mound marking the site of Ptolemais Hermiou, a city founded by Ptolemy I which in the time of Strabo was the largest in the Thebaid and not inferior in size to Memphis, with a constitution on the Greek model. Its Coptic name was Psoi. Some 7.5mi/12km west, at the village of El-Kawamel, are large cemeteries of the earliest period.
On the east bank of the Nile is the village of El-Ahaiwa, with cemeteries of the earliest period and the New Kingdom. On the hill, near a sheikh's tomb, are the remains of an ancient Egyptian brick built fort.
Beyond El-Minsha the hills on the east bank of the Nile come close to the river in Gebel Tukh. Stone for the building of Ptolemais came from the large quarries (Greek, Latin and demotic inscriptions) in this area, particularly in the vicinity of Sheikh Musa.
Read More
Read Less
