Tuna El-Gebel
Tuna el-Gebel was the necropolis of Khmun (Hermopolis Magna). It is located in El-Minia Governorate in Middle Egypt and the city contains a lot of monuments from different eras, as that was the main feature of the whole city of El-Minia and the city was an important destination for the rulers of Egypt across the history of Egypt. You can find in the necropolis of Tuna El-Gebel monuments from the New Kingdome, as well as the roman and Petolmic era.
The first attraction that you will find, dates back to the reign of king Akhnaton, who selected the city of El-Minia to be the Capital of the country, which is a Stela of the six boundary stelae that Akhnaton has erected, this stela shows the King with his wife Queen Nefertiti in different poses worshipping the god of sun, Aten.
After that you will find a different type of underground catacombs, they were different because they did not house mummies for humans as normal, instead they are housing mummies for sacred animals such as baboons, ibises and falcons because they were resembling god Thot and they were dedicated to him. The earliest objects found here are Aramaic administrative papyri of the 5th century Persian occupation discovered in a jar in the catacombs. This necropolis stretches three kilometers under the ground.
After the Catacombs, we will find another monument, which is the Tomb of Petosiris. Petosiris was a high priest of gof Tho lived in the early Greco-Roman era. This Tomb is unique because it is not a personal one but it is a family necropolis which bears the Greco and the Pharaonic style of art in its design as well as the carvings and the paintings inside the tomb itself, as you can see traditional farming scenes with people who are dressed with Greek costume. Also there is another feature could be noticed in this structure, the tomb looks more like a temple than a tomb, as you can see the design of the tomb consists of a portico with pillars in the beginning which will lead you to a podium then to the main burial room in the tomb.
The last landmark to be visited in the necropolis of Tuna El-Gebel is The Chapel of Isadora which dates back to the 2nd century A.D. Isadora has a unparalleled romantic and tragic story about her death. Isadora fall in love with a Roman Solider and they wanted to get married but her father refused this marriage, so they decided to run away but unfortunately while she was crossing the Nile river she drown. Her father built her this tomb and wrote her story in the Greek language, and also he mummified her body and put it In her mausoleum which is still in the tomb till the momunt in glass box to be visible for the visitors.
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