Menaphos

Menaphos, also known as the Golden City, is a city located far south in the Kharidian Desert. It is not yet accessible due to the inhabitants' fear of the plague in the neighbouring city of Sophanem. However it will become an accessible in-game area on 5 June 2017. Accessing the city will require completion of Diamond in the Rough and Stolen Hearts. Additionally it is recommended that the player has completed Icthlarin's Little Helper, and has level 85 Slayer and level 50 Agility, Construction, Crafting, Divination, Dungeoneering, Prayer, Runecrafting, and Thieving. Menaphos will be plagued by Amascut controlling the city's leader, The Pharaoh, and causing destruction while searching for her father, Tumeken. In doing so the Tombs of Menaphos will be revealed. This will be a city-wide minigame similar to Pyramid Plunder, where the player can explore a tomb to try and complete an objective, for example gathering 20 resources within a time limit. A large amount of experience will be gained for completing the objective, but far less will be awarded if the player does not. The city will also include a quest about Crondis, and the Menaphos Slayer Dungeon.

Travel
There is currently no method to access the city of Menaphos. It is possible to travel to the gate and the neighbouring city of Sophanem.


 * The Pharaoh's Sceptre can teleport players directly inside the Pyramid Plunder activity in neighbouring Sophanem.
 * The magic carpet system can be used to travel near Menaphos from Pollnivneach and vice-versa.
 * Fairy Ring code is some distance away, but still available if necessary.
 * The Camulet can teleport players to Enakhra's Temple, which can be found underground just north of Menaphos.
 * The Lodestone Network can be used to go to the Bandit Camp and then walk south-east.

Features
Jagex stated that Menaphos will be a mid-level hub city like Prifddinas, with skilling methods offering higher rewards coming at a greater risk. The city will be made up of four main areas, each being roughly the size of Port Sarim, arranged around a pyramid and grand library. The districts will be imperial, containing a lodestone, bank and Grand Exchange; port, containing new fish, a tavern, artisan facilities such as spinning wheels and anvils, a player-owned port portal, and the player's ship and crew if they have been to the Arc; merchant, containing stalls and Thieving activities; and workers, containing the poorer citizens and mining rocks.

Personalities

 * The Pharaoh - ruler of Menaphos
 * High Priest of Icthlarin - the head of the clergy
 * Coenus - captain of the Menaphite Guard
 * Ambassador Jabari - ambassador for the Pharaoh and thrall of Amascut
 * Menaphite Leader - gang leader and follower of Amascut
 * Ali the Operator - an underling of said leader
 * Jack of Spades - will be one of the main characters in the Jack of Spades quest
 * Aristarchus - a librarian in the Grand Library
 * Toralis - a missing explorer
 * Leela
 * Ozan
 * Crondis
 * Thrall
 * Osman

History
The Second Age saw a rise in power of the Menaphites, a group of humans that had settled in the Kharidian Desert during the dawn of humanity. The Menaphites played large roles in the construction and management of numerous settlements within the desert, including Sophanem, Ullek and Uzer.

The God Wars that scarred Gielinor during the Third Age brought great battle to the Kharidian Desert. Uzer was destroyed by the Elder-Demon Thammaron and Ullek fell shortly afterwards to Balfrug Kreeyath. To worsen matters, exiled followers of the fallen god Zaros were forced into the desert, where they wreaked havoc amongst the local populace. The only surviving cities were Menaphos and Sophanem, which were, at the time, little more than small Menaphite camps. The refugees from the destroyed settlements fled to Menaphos and Sophanem, where they contributed to the cities' prosperity. By the Fourth Age, the twin cities were amongst the largest in the world.

Menaphos held a large deal of political power within the Kharidian Desert, being the only city with any real strength; the only other settlements were small towns and camps such as Nardah and Pollnivneach. Menaphos went to war with Al-Kharid for some time, but little is known of this.

After the end of the Menaphos - Al-Kharid war, it was believed that Menaphos would open its gates to the rest of Gielinor. This, however, was not the case, due to the many plagues set upon Sophanem by Amascut. To prevent the spread of the plague, Menaphos closed its gates immediately. Many of the citizens of Sophanem were trapped inside, and any attempts by the Sophanites to negotiate with Menaphos were met with violence.

The city's closure was met with a great deal of resistance from the city's slaves, who rioted when they discovered that the slaves in Sophanem were no longer working because of the plagues. The riots were stamped out by the city's guards quickly.

Even today, the city remains sealed. Furthermore, recent reports show that the city is cutting off ocean-based trade in the Southern Sea, suggesting that the city is attempting to become more independent. This may mean that Menaphos means to remain sealed permanently.

Menaphos has made attempts to put one of their own leaders on the throne of Al-Kharid under the guise of offering stability to the city while the Emir and Prince Ali are absent, including assassinating the Emir and kidnapping the prince. These attempts have failed however. Amascut has revealed herself to be influential in these events, and it is unknown to what extent the pharaoh of Menaphos is aware of her involvement.

Pre-release
The build up to Menaphos release included:


 * Selection of a group of players to be "Menaphos Insiders".
 * The release of a website dedicated to Menaphos on 24 April.
 * Addition of the in-game sundial teaser on 24 April and associated Golden Path Challenge.
 * Competitions including naming of the Menaphos pub and creation of a player-written book for the Menaphos library.

Trivia

 * Menaphos is an anagram of Sophanem, being spelt nearly backwards except for the ph being swapped for ease of pronunciation.
 * It is probably based on the ancient Egyptian capital city of Memphis. It could also be based on Alexandria, an Egyptian port which also contained a grand library.
 * Due to an update on 26 September 2012 the full city of Menaphos was filled in on the World Map.
 * After an update on 9 August 2011, one was able to open the northern gate to Menaphos, however one could only move one game square into the city. This has since been patched.

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