Sohag سوهاج | |
|---|---|
 Sohag National Museum  Zubur Island | |
| Nickname: Bride of the Nile | |
  Sohag Location in Egypt | |
| Coordinates:26°33′N31°42′E / 26.550°N 31.700°E /26.550; 31.700 | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Governorate | Sohag |
| Markaz | Sohag Markaz |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Dr/Tarik al-Faki |
| Area | |
| • Land | 9.03 km2 (3.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 67 m (220 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• City | 266,944 |
| • Rank | 21st in Egypt |
| • Density | 29,500/km2 (76,500/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 600,000 |
| Demonym(s) | Sohagi, Sohagy |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 82749[2] |
| Area code | +20 (93)[3] |
| Website | www |
Sohag (Egyptian Arabic:سوهاج,romanized: Sawhāj,Egyptian Arabic pronunciation:[soˈhæːɡ],Sa'idi Arabic pronunciation:[suːˈhaːdʒ]), also spelled asSuhag orSuhaj, is a city on the west bank of theNile in Egypt.[4][5] The city has been the capital ofSohag Governorate since 1960, before which the capital wasGirga and the name of the governorate was Girga Governorate. The city also included Esna Governorate (nowadays part ofQena Governorate).[6][7]
The modern city developed from the village ofSuhay (Arabic:السوهاى) (orSumay), the name of which eventually transformed into Suhaj,[8] and is located on the site of several ancient settlements, the largest of which isBompae (Ancient Greek:Βομπαη;Coptic:ⲃⲟⲙⲡⲁϩⲟ,lit. 'channel of Paho' orCoptic:ⲡⲓⲃⲟⲙⲡⲁϩⲉ,lit. 'the place of Paha').[9] The others includeTmupaie (Ancient Greek:Τμουπαει,Coptic:ⲧⲙⲟⲩⲡⲁϩⲟ,lit. 'the island of Paha'),Bay (Arabic:الباى, possibly an Arabisation of the aforementioned "Paha") andSawaqi (Arabic:سواقى).
Sohag lies on a fertile agricultural plain on the western bank of the Nile,[10] approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) southwest ofAkhmim. The city includes two islands; Karaman-ez-Zahur Island is larger and uninhabited, and ez-Zahur Island (جزيرة الزهور, Ǧazīrat az-Zuhur, "Flower Island") has some homes.
The city Sohag itself encloses only a few archaeological sites, hence tourism represents only a small portion of the city's income. Other sources of income include trade, small industries of carpets, furniture, spinning and weaving and sugar. Administrative and educational services are two big sectors of income.
| 1928 | 1976 | 1986 | 1996 | 2006 | 2012 | 2018 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,760[11] | 101,758 | 132,965 | 170,125 | 189,695 | 201,339 | 248,174 | 266,944 | |
| Starting in 1928: Population of Sohag City[12] | ||||||||
Sohag is informally divided into the East District (Arabic: حى شرق) and the West District (Arabic: حي غرب). Among the most notable regions of the West District are:
The East District is considered a more upscale district; it includes some of the most affluent neighborhoods of the city including 15th Street, Al Kashef Street, Jumhuriya Street, The Courts Compound, and The Technical and Agricultural Schools. Some of the most notable locales of the East District include:
TheKöppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Sohag's climate ashot desert (BWh).Luxor,Minya, Sohag,Qena andAsyut have the widest difference of temperatures between days and nights of any city in Egypt, with almost 16 °C (29 °F) difference. Sohag is one of the warmest places in Egypt due to its location on the eastern side ofSahara in North Africa. Sohag is ranked the 5th driest place in Egypt and the 9th globally. Also ranked 4th warmest place in Egypt and 296th globally.
| Climate data for Sohag | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30.8 (87.4) | 37.5 (99.5) | 42.2 (108.0) | 43.9 (111.0) | 47.4 (117.3) | 47.9 (118.2) | 47.0 (116.6) | 43.4 (110.1) | 44.4 (111.9) | 43.1 (109.6) | 37.0 (98.6) | 33.3 (91.9) | 47.9 (118.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.0 (71.6) | 23.8 (74.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 33.6 (92.5) | 37.7 (99.9) | 39.6 (103.3) | 38.8 (101.8) | 37.8 (100.0) | 36.0 (96.8) | 33.7 (92.7) | 28.2 (82.8) | 23.5 (74.3) | 31.9 (89.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 18.9 (66.0) | 24.5 (76.1) | 29.1 (84.4) | 30.7 (87.3) | 31.0 (87.8) | 29.9 (85.8) | 27.9 (82.2) | 25.1 (77.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 15.4 (59.7) | 23.5 (74.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.3 (45.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.8 (53.2) | 16.6 (61.9) | 21.1 (70.0) | 23.1 (73.6) | 24.1 (75.4) | 23.1 (73.6) | 20.6 (69.1) | 17.8 (64.0) | 13.0 (55.4) | 9.2 (48.6) | 16.4 (61.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.6 (36.7) | 3.3 (37.9) | 7.7 (45.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 15.7 (60.3) | 17.6 (63.7) | 18.0 (64.4) | 15.9 (60.6) | 11.4 (52.5) | 4.8 (40.6) | 2.6 (36.7) | 0.4 (32.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0) |
| Average precipitation days | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 57 | 50 | 44 | 36 | 30 | 31 | 37 | 43 | 45 | 44 | 51 | 56 | 43.7 |
| Source 1: NOAA[13] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Climate Charts[14] | |||||||||||||
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A version of thedialect continuum ofSaidi Arabic is spoken by the people of Sohag. Most urbanized people, however, may speak to varying degreesEgyptian Arabic.[15]
TheSohag Museum contains about 5,000 artifacts gathered from around the Sohag governorate, including items stretching from theMiddle Kingdom to Greco-Roman times.[10][16]
Souq el-Qisareya: The bazaar in Sohag is named suq Qaiṣarīya and is partly covered.
Souq el-Itnein is a weekly market held every Monday morning; vegetables, fruits, animals and traditional hand made objects (like baskets, farming axes and bags) are sold there. The weekly market is believed to have originated during the Ancient Egyptian era. Thesouq is now in the south of the city and is held in the streets and beside the city cemetery.[10]
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In the masonry on the eastern, southern and western sides are stones engraved with historical inscriptions moved from previous buildings, including a decree of the penultimateMamluk sultanal-Ghawri (1441–1516) from the year 1506 (911 AH) on the southeastern side.
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Sohag has two important churches that were erected in the 20th century: the Church of the Holy Virgin and theChurch of Saint George.
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The Coptic White Monastery is aCoptic Orthodox monastery named after SaintShenouda the Archimandrite. It is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) west of Sohag. The monastery's name is derived from the color of the white limestone in its outside walls. The surviving building is the church of what was once a much larger monastery complex.[17]
TheRed Monastery is aCoptic Orthodox monastery named after an Egyptian saint calledPishay. It is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) north of the White Monastery. The monastery's name is derived from the color of the construction material of its outside walls, consisting of red (burnt) brick. The walls are considerably thicker at the base than at the top and, like the walls ofAncient Egyptian temples, they are surmounted by cavetto moldings. The Red Monastery is architecturally similar to the White Monastery.[17]
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Sohag is the site of a temple built for the goddessRepyt (Triphis) byPtolemy XV Caesarion and subsequent Roman emperors. South of this temple was an earlier temple ofPtolemy IX Soter II (see alsoAthribis Project). One of the nearby tombs of the brothers Ibpemeny "the younger" andPemehyt of the late second century BC, has two zodiacs on its ceiling.[18]
The most popular sport in Sohag isAssociation football.[citation needed] Sohag has many football clubs, including theEgyptian Premier League (EPL) teamSohag FC. In addition, EPL club hasEl Gouna FC usedSohag stadium as a home ground at times.[19]
Sohag is linked toGiza and northern cities by the road ofAsyut Western Desert, Eastern Desert Road and Rural Road, which also connects it to the railways.[20]
In February 2010, a highway linking Sohag to theRed Sea cityHurghada was opened to ease movement betweenUpper Egypt and the Red Sea coastal region.[citation needed] In May 2010, the Egyptian PresidentHosni Mubarak inauguratedSohag International Airport.[21]
| City | Distance (km) |
|---|---|
| Alexandria | 692 |
| Port Said | 691 |
| Ismaïlia | 616 |
| Suez | 605 |
| Cairo | 471 |
| Aswan | 428 |
| Luxor | 205 |
| Asyut | 98 |
Educational establishments in Sohag include:
Sohag University is a public university with more than 40,000 students[22] located on the eastern side of the city. It was established under the banner ofSouth Valley University but became independent in 2006. There are currently ten colleges in Sohag University.
Notable people who originate from or live in Sohag include:
Places adjacent to Sohag | |
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