Asyūṭ
Asyūṭ
Asyut is the largest city in Upper Egypt. It sits on the west bank of the Nile about halfway between Cairo and Luxor. In ancient times it was called Zawty, and the Greeks knew it as Lycopolis, "the city of the wolf," because the jackal god Wepwawet was worshipped here. It was an important stop on the caravan route to the Western Desert oases, and it was the birthplace of the philosopher Plotinus. Today it is a lively university and farming town and an important center for Egypt's Coptic Christians.
