Girga ( ), alternatively Digirga or Digurga is a city in the Sohag Governorate of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

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 is the metropolitan see of the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

, and is the oldest continuously-inhabited city on the African continent.

Name

The name of the city comes from , which is also preserved in possibly corrupted and its alternative name Digirga. Some

Egyptologists This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any archaeologist, historian, linguist, or art historian who specializes in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. Demotists are Egyptologists who speciali ...

such as Brugsch believe that the name of the city derives from the ancient Egyptian word ''grg miri-amoun Ramessou'' which means "The establishment of

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

", although Daressy and Budge identify the name with Coptic Balyana near Abydos. Through folk etymology the city became associated with

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and a now non-existent monastery dedicated to him nearby, hence Leo Africanus calls it ''Giorgia'' and Peust suggests an older vocalisation ''Gurga''.

Overview

Girga was the capital of the Girga Governorate until 1960, when the capital was moved to Sohag and the name of the governorate changed accordingly. Girga has an estimated population of 71,564 (as of 1986) and has various economic industries which include cane sugar manufacturing and pottery.

History

The city might have been the location of ancient city of

Thinis Thinis ( Greek: Θίνις ''Thinis'', Θίς ''This'' ; Egyptian: Tjenu; ; ) was the capital city of pre- unification Upper Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho ...

(Greek name; also spelled This) – the first capital city of unified Egypt under

Narmer Narmer (, may mean "painful catfish", "stinging catfish", "harsh catfish", or "fierce catfish"; ) was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period, whose reign began at the end of the 4th millennium BC. He was the successor to the Prot ...

. As of 2023, it remains inconclusive whether Girga or nearby village of Birba is the site of Thinis (Birba was confirmed to be the site of the capital of Egypt during the 1st and 2nd dynasties). There are ancient sites located on the territory of Girga including

Beit Khallaf Beit Khallaf (Arabic: بيت خلاف ) is a small rural village located 10 kilometers west of Girga in Upper Egypt. Beit Khallaf is part of the area known as the Hajer line, which is composed of three other villages: Beit Allam, Beit Khuraybi, ...

, a necropolis with mudbrick tombs dating back to the 3rd dynasty. Girga was the capital of Upper Egypt during Ottoman rule. In 1791, Saint Yousab El Abah (also Joseph el-Abbah) was the bishop of the city. In 1907 Girga had a population of 19,893, of whom about one-third were

Copts Copts (; ) are a Christians, Christian ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptians, Egyptian population, des ...

. As lately as the middle of the 18th century the town stood about 0.4 km from the river, but in the beginning of the 20th century it stood on the bank, the intervening space having been washed away, together with a large part of the town, by the stream continually encroaching on its left bank.

Places of worship

Mosques

* Chinese Mosque (): The mosque was presumably built in about 1150 AH (=

1737 Events January–March * January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parm ...

) in the historical district of al-Qaysariyya by Muhammad bey al-Faqari who became a governor in 1117 AH (= 1705/1706) in Ottoman times. Although it is called Chinese, no materials imported from China were used in its construction, and it got its name after porcelain used in its decoration. * Osman Bey Mosque () * Al-Fuqara Mosque () * Jalal Bey Mosque () * Al-Mitwalli Mosque ()

Churches and monasteries

* Monastery of Archangel Michael (): Situated on the right bank of the Nile opposite of Girga. Since 1910 this site has been celebrated among archaeologists, because the discoveries made there have shed light on the region's prehistory. * Church of Archangel Michael () * Church of Saint George () * Church of Theodore Tiron ()

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

References

External links

* Girga on Wikivoyage
Usepigraphy Stele Marble Relief
- Brown University {{Sohag Governorate Markazes Populated places in Sohag Governorate Cities in Egypt