Tuna el-Gebel and Hermopolis

Why visit Tuna el-Gebel?

Tuna el-Gebel shows a side of Egypt most travellers never see: the late centuries of pharaonic religion, when Greek and Egyptian worlds overlapped and the cult of Thoth drew pilgrims who dedicated millions of mummified animals. Hermopolis, the god's city, lay in the valley; its dead were buried on the desert edge to the west.

The god himself, his ibis and baboon forms and his myths are covered in our guide to Thoth. This page is about what to see on the ground and how to fit it into a day.

The tomb of Petosiris

The tomb of Petosiris, a high priest of Thoth around 300 BC, at the start of Ptolemaic rule, is built like a miniature temple, with a columned front hall and a chapel behind it, and its reliefs mix Egyptian and Greek art in a way found almost nowhere else.

In the front hall, scenes of ploughing, harvesting, wine-making, metalwork and carpentry follow traditional Egyptian themes, but many figures wear Greek clothing, stand in more relaxed poses and are modelled with a softer, rounded style. The chapel holds more conventional religious scenes and long inscriptions in which Petosiris describes restoring the temples of Hermopolis after a time of foreign rule. Nearby, a small Ptolemaic and Roman "city of the dead" of house-shaped tombs and funerary chapels lines streets in the sand.

The ibis and baboon catacombs

Below the desert surface, long galleries cut into the rock hold the burials of sacred ibises and baboons dedicated to Thoth from the Late Period into Roman times, with estimates of the ibis mummies running into the millions. You walk down into dim, cool corridors lined with niches and side chambers where pottery jars and bundles were stacked; a few baboon burials and stone coffins remain in place.

Ibises were bred in large numbers for this trade, and pilgrims bought a mummified bird to offer at the shrine. Scientists studying the mummies continue to debate how many birds were farmed and how many were caught wild. For the wider practice, see our guide to sacred animals and animal mummies. Nearby is a deep well with a waterwheel shaft that supplied the site, including water for the ibis enclosures.

Isadora's tomb and the boundary stela

Two more stops complete a visit: the Roman-era tomb of Isadora, a young woman who drowned in the Nile, and one of Akhenaten's boundary stelae cut into the cliffs. Isadora's chapel, from the 2nd century AD, has Greek verse inscriptions mourning her, and the mummy shown in it is usually identified as hers. The local guard, by tradition from the family that has cared for the tomb, often shows visitors around.

A short drive north-west, Boundary Stela A marks the western limit of the territory of Akhetaten, with statues of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their daughters carved beside the text. It is the easiest stela to see and links directly to Tell el-Amarna across the river.

Hermopolis (el-Ashmunein)

At el-Ashmunein, the site of Hermopolis Magna, two colossal quartzite baboons of Amenhotep III, each about 4.5 metres high, sit among the ruins of Thoth's temple; nearby stand the red granite columns of a 5th-century basilica. The Egyptian name, Khemenu, meant "Eight-town", after the eight primeval gods of creation worshipped here. Little else of the temple survives, so allow 30–45 minutes.

The basilica was built over the remains of a Ptolemaic temple, reusing some of its stone, and its re-erected columns give a sense of the scale of the Greek and Roman city, then one of the largest in Middle Egypt and a regional capital. Walking between the baboons and the church, your guide can point out scattered blocks and foundations from the temples of earlier periods, including inscribed pieces from the reign of Ramesses II.

In nearby Mallawi, the town museum displays finds from Tuna and Hermopolis, including animal mummies and coffins. It was looted in 2013 and later reopened after restoration; check whether it is open when you plan your day.

Planning the day: getting there, tickets and safety

From Minya, allow about an hour's drive south to el-Ashmunein, then about 20 minutes on to Tuna el-Gebel; a half-day covers both, or combine them with Beni Hasan for a full day. Tickets for the antiquities sites are sold separately; check current arrangements on egymonuments.gov.eg.

Middle Egypt has its own travel advice, so check Smartraveller or SafeTravel before booking and before you go. Police escorts and checkpoints may apply. Bring a torch for the catacombs and good shoes for sandy, uneven ground. Our Middle Egypt guide sets out how many nights to allow.