The Bride of Upper Egypt, it sits on the boundary between Upper and Lower Egypt, Minya is the capital of Minya Governorate in Upper Egypt. A provincial capital 245km south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile River, it was the capital of the Upper Egyptian cotton trade, but its factories now process sugar and produce soap and perfume.

The name of the city is derived from its Ancient Egyptian name Men'at Khufu meaning the nursing city of Khufu, linking it to the Pharaoh Khufu or Cheops, founder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Minya has one of the highest concentrations of Christian Coptic population in Egypt (approximately 50% of total population).