Sohag

Islam and Christianity are the main religions in Sohag; about 75% of the population are Muslim..

• Sidi Arif Mosque (Arabic: مسجد العارف بالله, Masjid al-ʿArif bi-Allah). The mosque is located in the south of the city. The el-ʿArif Mosque was built in the 14th century—the 8th century in the Islamic calendar. The present building was constructed around 1995. At the corners of the façade are two minarets and the roof is crowned by a dome. Inside the five-nave mosque the bases of the piers and the walls were lined with red granite. The ceiling is painted ornamentally; in its middle is an elongated light dome. The southeastern half is lit by chandeliers. At the end are the prayer niche (mihrab) with simple ornaments and to the right of it the wooden pulpit (minbar).

South side of the Sidi Arif Mosque	Inside the Sidi Arif Mosque	Mihrab and minbar of the Sidi Arif Mosque
	Ceiling of the Sidi Arif Mosque

• El-Farshuti Mosque (Arabic: جامع الفرشوطي, Jāmʿi al-Farschūṭī), also named el-'Atiq Mosque (the old mosque) is located approximately 350 metres (1,150 feet) southwest of the Sidi Arif Mosque. The most striking feature of the mosque is its 53-metre-high (174-foot) minaret in the southeast corner. The minaret has galleries with balustrades on four floors. The mosque is a modern, bright building. The mosque is divided into five naves by columns and pillars. It has a central light dome, which is inscribed at the bottom with a sura from the Qur'an. The bases of the walls are painted yellow and white with green bands. A very colorful prayer niche next to the wooden pulpit is located at the southeastern side.

In the masonry on the eastern, southern and western sides are stones engraved with historical inscriptions moved from previous buildings, including a decree of the penultimate Mamluk sultan al-Ghawri (1441–1516) from the year 1506 (911 AH) on the southeastern side.

South side of the el-Farshuti Mosque	Inside the el-Farshuti Mosque	Mihrab and minbar of the el-Farshuti Mosque
	Ceiling of the el-Farshuti Mosque

Sohag has two important churches that were erected in the 20th century: the Church of the Holy Virgin and the Church of Saint George.

• The Church of the Holy Virgin (Arabic: كنيسة السيدة العذراء, Kanīsat as-Saiyida al-ʿAdraʾ). The church is located in the north of the bazaar (souq Qaiṣarīya). It consists of five naves. There are three sanctuaries for Saint George (left), the Holy Virgin and the Archangel Michael at the ends of the middle three naves. All sanctuaries are completely screened by a wooden iconostasis. On both sides of the entrances to the sanctuaries are wooden icons of the Holy Virgin and Jesus. The Lord's Last Supper and the crosses are located above the iconstasis. The presentation in the central nave is framed by a fish and a pigeon; the other ones are framed by angels and a dove. Galleries are located above the aisles and the entrance. On the walls are paintings of saints and scenes from the life of Jesus.

Church of the Holy Virgin

Inside the Church of the Holy Virgin

Icon of the Holy Virgin with her child

• Church of St. George is the cathedral of the diocese of Sohag (Arabic: كنيسة مار جرجس, Kanīsat Mar Girgis). The church is located 300 metres (980 feet) north of the Opera (Midan Obira) or Culture Square (Midan eth-Thaqafa).
• Church of the Archangel Michael (Arabic: كنيسة الملاك ميخائيل). The church is located in Railway Station Street (El-Mahatta Street) on the eastern side of the railway tracks.

The Coptic White Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite. It is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) west of Sohag. The monastery's name is derived from the color of the white limestone in its outside walls. The surviving building is the church of what was once a much larger monastery complex.[12]

The Red Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after an Egyptian saint called Pishay. It is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) north of the White Monastery. The monastery's name is derived from the color of the construction material of its outside walls, consisting of red (burnt) brick. The walls are considerably thicker at the base than at the top and, like the walls of Ancient Egyptian temples, they are surmounted by cavetto moldings. The Red Monastery is architecturally similar to the White Monastery.[12]

Red Monastery

White Monastery

Sohag is the site of a temple built for the goddess Repyt (Triphis) by Ptolemy XV Caesarion and subsequent Roman emperors. South of this temple was an earlier temple of Ptolemy IX Soter II (see also Athribis Project). One of the nearby tombs of the brothers Ibpemeny "the younger" and Pemehyt of the late second century BC, has two zodiacs on its ceiling.[13]

A version of the dialect continuum of Saidi Arabic is spoken by the people of Sohag. Most urbanized people, however, may speak to varying degrees Egyptian Arabic.[16]

The Sohag Museum contains about 5,000 artifacts gathered from around the Sohag governorate, including items stretching from the Middle Kingdom to Greco-Roman times.[9][17]

Souq el-Qisareya: The bazaar in Sohag is named suq Qaiṣarīya and is partly covered.

Souq el-Itnein is a weekly market held every Monday morning; vegetables, fruits, animals and traditional hand made objects (like baskets, farming axes and bags) are sold there. The weekly market is believed to have originated during the Ancient Egyptian era. The souq is now in the south of the city and is held in the streets and beside the city cemetery.[9]

Sohag University is a public university with more than 40,000 students[20] located on the eastern side of the city. It was established under the banner of South Valley University but became independent in 2006. There are currently ten colleges in Sohag University.