Abu Tig (; ''Tapothēkē )'' is a city in the

Asyut Governorate Asyūṭ () is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It stretches across a section of the Nile River. The capital of the governorate is the city of Asyut. Etymology The name of Asyut is derived from early Egyptian ''Zawty'' (''Z3JW.TJ''), late E ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Located on the west bank of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, it has a population of 70,969 inhabitants (2006). Abu Tig is the third largest city in Asyut Governorate in Egypt after

Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut''. ( ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city i ...

itself and Dairut. Abu-Tig is very famous for herbs and botanicals all over Egypt. In the Ancient era, Abu-Tig was and still considered as the central hub for fresh and natural fruits and vegetables as well as herbs and spices. It is not only a commercial city but is famous for El Farghal Mosque as well. El Farghal Mosque, with its twin minarets, is the largest mosque in Upper Egypt. Many people come to Abu Tig every year in July to visit El Farghal Mosque and celebrate at the El Farghal fair. During holidays and feasts, people from all over Upper Egypt come to Abu Tig to visit its zoo, called "Nasser Zoo".

History

Abu Tig is an ancient city distinguished by its ancient-times archaeology, including an obelisk with a depiction of Queen and Pharaoh

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...

Gauthier Gauthier () is a French name of Germanic origin, corresponding to the English given name Walter. People with the given name * Gauthier de Costes, seigneur de la Calprenède * Gauthier de Brienne, Counts Walter III of Brienne, Walter IV of Brienne ...

adds that its

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian name was "Pa-shna" which translates to "The store" where the Greeks translated the name to "Apotheke" () and hence came the modern name of the city, it was a place of worship of

Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...

. Palaces and churches in Abu Tig date back to ancient Coptic, and Islamic eras. During the

Napoleonic Era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and history of Europe, Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly (French Revoluti ...

, tourists looking for fine belly-dancing could find belly-dancers in Abu Tig. A school for training belly-dancers existed there until public belly-dancing was banned. In the early 19th century slaves from Sudan were castrated near Abu Tig, mainly by Coptic priests. Abu Tig has a number of bars that cater to tourists, including divers.

Geography

Abu Tig has many subordinate villages like: Baqor, Nazlat Baqor, El Felio, El Nekhila, Bani Semei, El Zayara, El Zawia, Dekran, El Zarabi, Dweina, Nazlat Dweina, Abu El Hareth, Abu Khors and El Balayza.

Climate

Abu Tig is classified by Köppen-Geiger climate classification system as

hot desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

(BWh), as the rest of Egypt.

Notable people

* *

References

{{Cities of Egypt Populated places in Asyut Governorate