Al-Ghanayem is a city and municipal centre in the southwest of Assiut Governorate. It is 40 kilometres from Assiut and 440 kilometres from Cairo. The town is a rural desert city; the eastern part is agricultural, while the western part is a plain desert. It is currently witnessing an urban renaissance.
Location of Al-Ghanayem Town
Al-Ghanayem town is located in the far southwest of Assiut Governorate and on the borders of Sohag Governorate. It is about 45 km south of Assiut, on a paved road that passes through the villages of Duranka, Rifa, Deir Rifa, Al-Zawiya, Al-Blaizah, Al-Zarabi, and Dikran. The area of Al-Ghanayem is rectangular from north to south, bordered by the Sedafa to the east, to the west by the Western Mountains, to the north by Abu Taj, and the south by Tema in the Sohag governorate.
Etymology
Al-Ghanayem belongs to a man named Said Ghoneim, a farmer displaced from southern Upper Egypt from the Hawara family in 1380 AD, and his origin goes back to the Sheba tribe. Its climate with the Arab environment. Because of Saeed’s connection to the Al-Hawara family in Upper Egypt, there are strong relations between Al-Ghanayem and the governorates of Sohag and Qena. The people of Al-Ghanaym are characterized by generosity, respect for the guests, and standing by the oppressed. They were subjected to the passage of the French campaign in Deir Al-Jandala and the Al-Ghanayem area, where they resisted the French, who burned the town in the residential area.
Population
The total population reached 128,720 thousand people in 2012. The entire area is 49.24 km2, representing 2.896% of the total area of the governorate. In contrast, the total inhabited area in this town represents 2.9% of the entire inhabited area of the governorate. The most important crops in the centre are cotton, wheat, sorghum, maize, and fava beans. The Church of the Blessed Virgin in Deir Al-Jandala is one of the most important tourist and archaeological sites in Al-Ghanayem.
High-rank Villages in Al Ghanayem town
Villages with a particular nature and distinctive production and tourism in the centre:
- Deir Al-Jandala village: There is the monastery of the Virgin Mary
