Egyptian treasures - Minya

30 November -0001

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Though MINYA is further from most of the sites, it used to be infinitely preferable to Mallawi as a base for excursions. The provincial capital, it derives considerable charm from the old villas built by Italian architects for Greek and Egyptian cotton magnates - now picturesquely decaying amidst their overgrown gardens - and from its people, known in Egypt for their warmth and honesty.

Beneath the palm trees that shadow its squares, couples canoodle and vendors hawk sweet potatoes, and during Ramadan half the population seems to sleep outdoors. In happier times, Minya was called the "Bride of Upper Egypt".

Outside the train station is a square redolent of some ex-colonial ville in North Africa. Sharia Gumhorriya leads past a row of cafés to reach Midan Tahrir (aka Midan Qasr), the hub of small-town life by day. Come evening, locals promenade between Tahrir and Midan Sa'a (Clock Square), past shops and eating places replicated further up Gumhorriya, which terminates at the Corniche (aka Sharia el-Nil).

Across the river rise the striated hills of the Eastern Desert. Thus constrained, Minya spreads alongside the riverbank and westwards across the Ibrahimiya Canal , encroaching on the agricultural plain beyond.

Discounting the restaurants in the Mercure Nefertiti, there are few places to eat worth considering. Avoid the garishly painted El-Fairouz on the corner of Sharia Salatin and the Corniche, and the restaurant in the Akhnaton Hotel. The Lotus Hotel offers better meals, but the best chicken, kebabs and desserts are sold at the Cafeteria Aly Baba, north of the Governorate building. The Savoy Restaurant, next to the Savoy Hotel, is also good for kebab and kofta, while the Sabah al-Kheer, across the road, does cheap fuul and eggs. Both Minya's main squares feature the usual array of cafés, kushari and grilled-chicken take-aways.

Minya's tourist office (daily except Fri 8.30am-8.30pm; tel 086/343-500) is anxious to please but short on hard facts. It can even be wrong about whether sites like Beni Hassan and Hermopolis are open, so it's best to double-check vital information with the tourist police (tel 086/364-527). Visitors are bound to come to the attention of the security department , which shares a building on the Corniche with the regular police (tel 123).

There's a 24-hour telephone office opposite the station, while the main post office (daily 8.30am-3pm) is at the rear of a white building near the tourist office, with a passport office (daily except Fri 8.30am-2pm) on the floor above. Banque Misr on Midan Sa'a (daily except Fri 8.30am-2pm) does cash advances on Visa cards; another branch on Sharia Gumhorriya, and the National Bank of Egypt (daily except Fri 8.30am-2pm & 6-9pm) at the Corniche end of Sharia Gumhorriya, only change money and travellers' cheques. There is a hospital just south of town along the Corniche (tel 086/634-098). The Monday market , to the southwest of town, has been a fixture since Ottoman times.

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