Halfway down the Nile, Minya's ancient past is off the tourist trail.

Locals call it "Aroos El-Saeed" – the bride of Upper Egypt- a nickname so old, no-one remembers where it came from. Perhaps it's from Minya's position midway between ancient Thebes (Luxor) and Memphis (South of Cairo), which links the north and south as a marriage links two families.

Minya has been and loved for thousands of years. Every era from Pharaonic to Greco-Roman to Christian to Islamic has left its mark through the governorate, making Minya an intriguing weekend destination.

The city of Minya does not offer a lot but serves as a good base from which to explore the surrounding sites. Closest to Minya (20 kms south of the city east bank), the cliffs of Beni Hassan house a necropolis for the Middle Kingdom (c.2000-1600 BC) governors of the Oryx "nome".

Well-preserved paintings in the tomb of Baqet III celebrate daily life including wrestling, dancing, hunting and even acrobatics, done with such accuracy that the figures almost come to life. Also don't miss the wall panel illustrating the life story of the noble and his wife from birth to old age.

Best is to just wave at the contemporary burials and move on to Zawiyet Sultan, on the southern age of Zawiyet El Mayiteen.
Zawiyet Sultan is notable for the remains of a third-dynasty step pyramid, predating the Pyramids of Giza. The site has also several tombs and remnants from the eighteenth-dynasty temple of Amenhotep (ca. 1453-1419 BC)

Minya was the ever-so-briefly the center of the Pharaonic world, when the Pharaoh Akhenaton built Tel Amarna as his capital, about 12 km south of the present-day city Mallawi. Heralded as the nation's first monotheistic ruler, Akhenaton ruled from Amarna for less than 20 years: after his death around 1334 BC, his cult for the sun god, Aton, fell out of favor and rule gravitated back to Thebes.
As a result, many of the tombs are unfinished, offering a behind-the scenes glimpse of how elaborate scenes were sketched, carved and painted.

One of the famous is the tomb of Ay, a civilian commander who succeeded Tutankhamon as pharaoh and was ultimately buried in the Valley of the Kings.
Ay's pre-royal tomb has a scene of him and his wife receiving golden necklaces form Akhenaton and Nefertiti.

There are at least 25 known tombs in Amarna, but no-one is sure which one belongs to Akhenaton because the Pharaoh's body has never been identified. The four-chamber tomb that archeologists believe belongs to the King is tucked away in a narrow valley between the north and south sections of the city.
What with two separate sites for tombs plus the ruins of a temple and a palace, Amarna is a full-day excursion.

About 15 kms from Amarna is the ruins of Hermopolis, a cult center for Thoth, the Pharaonic god of wisdom and its accompanying necropolis Tuna El Jebel. The latter is the better option as it houses kilometers of Greco-Roman catacombs filled with mummified ibis and baboon offerings.

It's easy to fancy yourself a famous explorer as you descend into the subterranean complex with its chapel to Thoth and passages leading to the sarcophagus ofone of the cult priests.

Tuna El Jebel also has a well-preserved mummy of Lady Isadora and a beautifully decorated tomb of Ptolemaic priest Petosiris. Beyond its historical value, Petosiris' tomb is a tribute to the artists who carved the reliefs. Pharaonic-style scenes were reinterpreted with a Ptolemaic touch, with meticulous details in the clothing animals and agricultural offerings.

Tomb trekking is tiring business, so after you've headed back to Minya city and washed the dust off, head down to the Nile River and kick back on an idyllic sunset felucca ride. The cliffs hugging the narrow strip of riverside greenery seem to glow, as you amid the tranquility.

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