Beni Mur ( ar, بني مر, also spelled Bani Murr) is an Egyptian town in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

located 8 kilometers north of the city of

Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) 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 ...

History

The town is believed to be the site of Deir Abu as-Sira (a corrupted form of the name Theodor ()), a monastery dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

. Today Beni Mur is the site of the Church of Saint George which is visited annually on 1 May by local Coptic pilgrims. The church is small, with two altars, dedicated to

and the

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. According to local tradition, the town was named after the Beni Mur elites who hailed from the Hejaz region, ruled over the rural town during the

Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...

of North Africa, and are attributed with promoting the Classical Arabic language and early teachings of Islam among the locals.Aburish, 2004, p.12. The former

Egyptian president The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egy ...

Gamal Abdel Nasser's father was born in 1888 in Beni Mur. A small mosque was built in the town in 1898 and the first primary school was opened in 1900, consisting of a single room.Joesten, 1974, p. 14.

References

Bibliography

* * * * Populated places in Asyut Governorate {{Egypt-geo-stub