Beni Suef

Beni Suef is the capital of Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile about 110 kilometers south of Cairo, with a population of 294,125 as of 2023. Nearby lies the ancient site of Heracleopolis, capital of Egypt during the ninth and tenth dynasties, and the city itself rose to prominence in the Middle Ages for its linen manufacturing, an industrial heritage carried on today through carpet making and cotton spinning. Beni Suef was made the chief town of Upper Egypt's second province under Muhammad Ali in the nineteenth century and now hosts Beni Suef University alongside its role as an agricultural trade center.