Tahta ( ar, طهطا / ,

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''Ṭahṭā''; ; , ) is a city in the

Sohag Governorate Sohag Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the southern part of the country (Upper Egypt), and covers a stretch of the Nile Valley. Since 1960, its capital has been the city of Sohag. Prior to that, the capital was t ...

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient ...

. It is located on the west bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

in an area known for its agricultural richness. Tahta had a population of 85,528 in the 2017 census.

Egyptologists This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any archaeologist, historian, linguist, or art historian who specializes in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. Demotists are Egyptologists who special ...

believe that the modern name may derive from the word ''Ta-ho-ty'' ( egy, Tȝ-ḥw.t-Ty). Two famous monasteries are located near Tahta, the

White Monastery The Coptic White Monastery (), also The Monastery of Abba Shenouda () and The Athribian Monastery () is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite. It is located near the Upper Egyptian cities of Tahta and Sohag, a ...

and the

Red Monastery The Red Monastery () or The Monastery of Apa Psoi () is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after an Egyptian saint called Psoi () or Pishoy () (who is not to be confused with the famous Saint Pishoy). It is located near the Upper Egyptian city of ...

. The town has a small but significant

Coptic Catholic The Coptic Catholic Church ( ar, الكنيسة القبطية الكاثوليكية; la, Ecclesia Catholica Coptorum) is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic Chu ...

community. Its most famous resident was the reformist intellectual

Rifa'a al-Tahtawi Rifa'a at-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy; ar, رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي, ; 1801–1873) was an Egyptian writer, teacher, translator, Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual. Tahtawi was among the first Egyptian scholars to write about ...

, who was born in Tahta in 1801, and who wrote and translated many books following his trip to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1826 as the

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

and chaplain for the first group of Egyptians whom

Mehmet Ali Pasha Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

(Muhammad Ali Pasha) sent to study in western Europe.

Villages

Villages within the jurisdiction of Tahta include: * Bani Harb ( arz, بني حرب) * Nazlit El Qady ( ar, نزلة القاضي) * Banga ( arz, بنجا) * El Sawalim ( arz, السوالم) * Shattoura ( arz, شطورة) * El Soffeha ( arz, الصفيحه) * El Kom El Asfar ( arz, الكوم الأصفر) * Zein Eld Din ( arz, زين الدين) * Nazlit Ali ( arz, نزلة علي) * Elsawamaa Gharb ( arz, الصوامعة غرب) * Banhao ( arz, بنهو) *

Bani Ammar {{Infobox settlement , name = Bani Ammar , other_name = , native_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize = , ...

( arz, بني عمار) * Eneebis ( arz, عنيبس)

Notable residents

Rifa'a el-Tahtawi Rifa'a at-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy; ar, رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي, ; 1801–1873) was an Egyptian writer, teacher, translator, Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual. Tahtawi was among the first Egyptian scholars to write about W ...

Naguib Sawiris Naguib Onsi Sawiris (or Sawires; ar, نجيب اُنسى ساويرس ; ; born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian billionaire businessman. Sawiris is chairman of Weather Investments's parent company, and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telec ...

References

Populated places in Sohag Governorate Populated places on the Nile Egypt Cities in Egypt {{egypt-geo-stub

Villages

Notable residents

See also

References