Maghagha

Maghagha مغاغة
Maghagha Location in Egypt
Coordinates:28°39′N30°51′E
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Minya
Time zone	UTC+2(EST)

Maghagha(Arabic:مغاغة) is acityinEgypt,located on the west bank of theNile.It is the northernmost city in theMinya Governorate.

History

The old names of the town wereNimoui(Arabic:نموى,fromCoptic:ⲛⲓⲙⲟⲩⲓ,lit. 'islands') andGazirat al-Hagar(Arabic:جزيرة الحجر,lit. 'stone islands').

In May 1963, the ferry boat Adel capsized here, killing 206 people.

In June 2007, 11-year-old schoolgirl Budour Ahmed Shaker died at a private clinic in Maghagha after an excessive dose ofanesthesiawhile undergoing the procedure offemale genital cutting,sparking widespread protests and prompting the Egyptian government to outlaw the practice by closing a legal loophole allowing it to be performed for "documented health reasons". The ban instead drove the practice underground, with doctors charging higher fees to compensate for the risk of being prosecuted.

The1885 Census of Egyptrecorded Maghagha (asMaghaghah) as anahiyahin under the district ofEl FashninMinya Governorate;at that time, the population of the town was 3,126 (1,548 men and 1,578 women).

In 1888, a travel guide by the British publishing houseJohn Murraydescribed Maghagha as possessing one of the most importantsugarfactories in Egypt, with large tracts around the town being devoted to the cultivation ofcane sugar,although the amount of sugar produced at the factory had diminished in recent years. There was abranch lineconnecting Maghagha toAba al-WaqfandBeni Mazar;it was used to transport cane sugar tosugar millsduring the harvest season. The guide also described several ancient ruins in the area, with a cemetery fordog mummies.Just upstream from Maghagha was a rock called theHagar es-Salaam,or "stone of welfare", in the Nile near the shore. Local boatmen claimed that no journey down the Nile would be prosperous until passing this rock.

Villages

• Aba al-Waqf
• Ashnin
• Beni Khaled
• Bortbat El Gabal
• Dahmro
• Deir el-Garnus
• El A'bor
• El Kom El Akhdar
• Malatya
• Mayana El Wakf
• Sharona
• Tanbdy

Economy

Maghagha'ssoukis one of only two in Egypt to be government-owned (the other is inShibin el-Kom), with fixed rental fees for vendors. Other markets in Maghagha district are privately owned, with varying rental rates. These markets are mostly held on different days, to reduce competition with one another and allow merchants to attend several different ones in the same week. To that end, some of the markets have been rescheduled in the past: for example, the souk in Bani Khalid was established in the 1940s and was originally held on Sundays. However, in the mid-1970s, improved transportation led to the market being rescheduled to Tuesdays, to reduce competition with the market in Saqola. The markets that are held on the same day owe their coexistence to distance and size factors. For example, there are three souks held on Thursday in the district: in Maghagha itself as well as in the villages of Bani Wallims (18km from Maghagha) and Shim al-Basal al-Bahariya (14km). The latter two souks are smaller ones (orsuwayqas) with no more than 70 vendors; they mostly cater to the needs of local residents.

The following table shows the date and location of the various souks in Maghagha district:

Name	Market day	Direction from Maghagha
Barabat	Saturday	Southwest
Saqola	Sunday	Southwest
Aba al-Waqf	Monday	South
Bani Khalid	Tuesday	West
Shim al-Basal al-Qibliya	Wednesday	Southwest
Shim al-Basal al-Bahariya	Thursday	Southwest
Bani Wallims	Thursday	Southwest
Maghagha	Thursday	--
al-Qayat	Friday	West
Tanbidi	Tuesday	West

Notable people

• Taha Hussein,20th century writer and intellectual associated with theNahdaandmodernistmovements
• Ahmed Hassan,former footballer
• Hakim,pop singer