EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

EL-MAHALLA EL-KUBRA , 24km northeast of Tanta, is Egypt's fourth largest city ( Omar Khayyam hotel on Midan 23rd July; tel 040/334-299; £E65-100 / US$20-35), and a taxi staging-post for journeys to the riverside town - almost a suburb, these days - of SAMMANUD .

Immediately west of the Sammanud taxi depot, near the hospital, a large mound and a scattering of red and black granite blocks mark the site of the Temple of Onuris-Shu, rebuilt by Nectanebo II to grace Tjeboutjes , the capital of the Twelfth Nome. Another city, Busiris , occupied a bluff overlooking the river further south, along the road out of Sammanud. However, part of a XXVI Dynasty basalt statue and fragments of a monumental gateway are all that remain of this reputed birthplace of Osiris.

The H8 road, which runs northeast from Sammanud to Talkha, takes you past the site of ancient Pr-Hebeit, 10km to the west, better known by its Roman name, Iseum . Here, the great Temple of Isis which Nectanebo began and Ptolemy II completed has been reduced to an enclosure wall, some carved granite blocks and Hathor-headed capitals. From Talkha, you can easily cross the river to El-Mansura.