Jirjā

Jirjā

Egypt
also spelled  Girga,  

      town, Sawhāj muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Upper Egypt. It is situated on the west bank of the Nile River, which encroached considerably on the town in the 18th and 19th centuries. In pharaonic times it was probably the town of This (Tny), ancestral home of the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–c. 2775 BC), which unified Egypt. Its present name derives from the ancient Coptic monastery of Mar Girgis, dedicated to St. George. In the 14th century AD it became a centre of the Hawwārah, an Arabized Berber tribe; in about 1576 they were conquered by the Ottoman governor of Egypt, who then made Jirjā the seat of the governor of Upper Egypt. During the reign of Muḥammad ʿAlī (1805–48), it was absorbed into a larger territorial unit. In 1859 Sawhāj replaced Jirjā as the provincial capital.

      Possessing several fine mosques and known for its quality pottery, Jirjā also has cotton-weaving, sugar-refining, and dairying industries. The sugar refinery was enlarged in the early 1980s to a capacity of 75,000 tons per year. The valley on the west bank produces cotton, cereals, dates, and sugarcane. With a considerable Coptic minority, it is the seat of a Coptic bishop. A Roman Catholic monastery outside the town is reputedly the second oldest in Egypt. About 10 miles (16 km) south are the ruins of ancient Abydos. Across the river on the narrow east bank, the tombs of the nobles of ancient This line the limestone cliff face. Pop. (1996) 95,384.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jirja — Original name in latin Jirj Name in other language Girga, Jirja, Jirj State code EG Continent/City Africa/Cairo longitude 26.33826 latitude 31.89161 altitude 70 Population 128250 Date 2012 01 19 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Bayt Jirja — ( ar. بيت جرجه ) was a Palestinian village that was captured by Israel during the 1948 Arab Israeli war. Bayt JirjaDistrictSouth, IsraelLocation15.5 (km) North East of GazaIsraeli occupation date 30th of October 1948Israeli military operationYo… …   Wikipedia

  • Markaz Jirja — Admin ASC 2 Code Orig. name Markaz Jirjā Country and Admin Code EG.24.355025 EG …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

  • Sawhāj — ▪ Egypt also spelled  Sohāg, or Suhag,         town and capital of Sawhāj muḥāfaẓah (governorate) in the Nile River valley of Upper Egypt. The town is located on the Nile s western bank between Asyūṭ and Jirjā, immediately across from Akhmīm on… …   Universalium

  • Operation Yoav — v · …   Wikipedia

  • District of Gaza — The District of Gaza was an administrative district, situated in the southern Mediterranean coastline of the British Mandate of Palestine. After the 1948 Arab Israeli War, the district disintegrated, with Israel controlling the northern and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict — Below is a list of villages depopulated and/or destroyed during the Arab Israeli conflict, many of them during the 1948 Arab Israeli War (also known as Nakba amongst the Palestinians). =1921 Jaffa riots= * Jewish population left Jaffa1929… …   Wikipedia

  • Danna — For the island in Scotland, see Danna, Scotland. Danna …   Wikipedia

  • Amka — Hebrew עַמְקָה Founded 1949 …   Wikipedia

  • Mi'ar — Mi ar …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”