LANDMARKLandmark
El-Minya Great Mosque
27.6840, 31.6375
El-Minya's Great Mosque is the architectural anchor of the city's Nile corniche, its minaret a landmark on a riverfront that has earned Minya the nickname bride of Upper Egypt. In a Middle Egypt city few foreign travellers reach, it stands as a working centre of daily worship rather than a tourist monument, and the surrounding corniche is the town's favourite place to stroll at dusk.
Minya rewards the curious with a slower, more authentic slice of Egyptian life, and the mosque makes a natural starting point before venturing out to the region's remarkable sites: the tombs of Beni Hasan, the ruined city of Akhenaten at Amarna, and Tuna el-Gebel. Come for the riverside atmosphere and the sense of an Egypt still largely off the trail.
Know before you go
This is an active place of worship, so dress modestly, remove your shoes to enter, and avoid visiting during the five daily prayer times.