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Why visit Girga
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks in and around town.
Highlights include Girga and Lepidotonpolis.
Weather in Girga
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Girga
Girga (Egyptian Arabic: جرجا, romanized: Girgā, [ˈɡeɾɡæ]), alternatively Digirga, Digurga or Jirjā is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt located on the west bank of the Nile. It is the metropolitan see of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and is the oldest continuously-inhabited city on the African continent (late 4th millennium BC).
From the Wikipedia article Girga (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Museums and landmarks4
Lepidotonpolis
Monument and historic site · 4.0 km
Ancient Egyptian city
Healthcare14
dr walla pharmacy
Clinic and pharmacy · 1.2 km
خالد بن الوليد- المشوادي
Mo-Su 10:00-23:00
2 more on the map.
History
The city might have been the location of the ancient city of Thinis (Greek name; also spelled This) – the first capital city of unified Egypt under Narmer. As of 2025, 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, a necropolis with mudbrick tombs dating back to the 3rd dynasty.
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.
As late as the middle of the 18th century, the town stood about 0.4 km from the river, but by 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.
From the History section of Girga on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Girga
18 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Suhag International Airport (HMB) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 16 km away.
- Al Balyanā 16 km southeast, about 16 min by car
- Al Minshāh 18 km northwest, about 18 min by car
- Dār as Salām 18 km east, about 18 min by car
- Akhmīm 29 km northwest, about 29 min by car
- Sohag 31 km northwest, about 31 min by car
- Abū Ţisht 31 km southeast, about 31 min by car
- Tūnis 37 km northwest, about 37 min by car
- Farshūţ 41 km southeast, about 41 min by car
- Sāqultah 42 km northwest, about 42 min by car
- Nag Hammâdi 47 km southeast, about 47 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Girgeh (1890) - TIMEA, Pearson, G., CC BY-SA 2.5
Page built November 8, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.