The holy family in Egypt
When we speak about the holy family we mean Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, and Joseph. Most people know that the family sought shelter in Egypt but they don’t know how long they stayed in Egypt?
The answer can be jaw-dropping if we say that Jesus spent more than a tenth of his life in Egypt. In fact, he spent 42 months in Egypt and the family crossed 26 locations throughout the whole country.
The family left Beithlahem heading to the land of the pharaohs to avoid the reach of Herod’s spies as he had no political power in Egypt.
Tell Basta
It is located 100 kilometers north-east of Cairo. It is believed that Jesus created a well there.
Coptic traditions says that when the holy family entered, the temple collapsed. So, they left the city because the people didn’t welcome them.
Musturud
After leaving Tell Basta, the holy family went to Musturud. Its location isn’t more than ten kilometers far from Cairo.
Virgin Mary showered Jesus Christ there and washed his clothes. The water of the well, became holy and people go there to get healed.
Now there’s a church built at this place. It got created in year 1175.
Bilbays
They went north east, where Bilbays is. It’s about 55 kilometers far from Cairo.
They stayed there near a tree known for “The Virgin Mary tree”.Even on their way back, they passed near Bilbays.
There’s now a church at this spot called “St. George church”.
Samannud
From Bilbays they went north west to Samannud.
Earlier, there was an old church named after St. Mary. It collapsed, so a new church got built. It’s named after Virgin Mary and St. Abanob.
Sakha
After leaving Bilbays, they went north west to Sakha.
There’s a church there named after St. Mary.
Wadi al-Natrun
They crossed the to the east bank of the Nile to Wadi El-Natroun. According to the coptic traditions, Virgin Mary got lost there with Jesus & they blessed the 4 corners of the area.
Now there are 4 monasteries occupied by monks.
The four monasteries are: Saint Bishoy, El syrian, Al- Baramous, and Saint Macarius.
Matariya
Traveling south east to Matariya where they found shade under a sycamore tree. At that spot Jesus created a well, blessed it and drank from it. Virgin Mary also used its water to bath Jesus. On the place where she threw out the water, a ‘balsam’ plant grew which gave a beautiful fragrance, that is why it is called Saint Mary Tree.
The remains of the tree still there.
Old Cairo
After the arrival of the Holy Family to an area in ancient Egypt known as Babylonian where they inhabited a cave that is now located in the archaeological church of Abi Serja; now known as the church of the martyrs Sergius and Wakhus.
It seemed that the Holy Family could not stay in that area for more than only a few days. There is an ancient well beside the cave and inside the aquatic structure of the church.
This holy grotto is a small chapel under the ground below the middle of the apostles and is a part of the temple structure. This holy cave can be accessed by two ways through staircases; one from the hall of the southern temple of the church and the other from the center of the hall in the northern temple.
The length of the holy cave is about 20 feet and 15 feet in width without any windows, and below the floor of the Church of Abu Serja by at least 21 feet, and the floor of the church itself goes down from the street level by about 13 feet.
Maadi
The holy family left old Cairo heading south to Maadi where they got a boat & sail further south.
Now there is a church of Saint Mary in the same place
Dayr al-Garnus
There’s a church named after St. Mary in the village “Dayr al-Garnus”. It was built in the 19th century.
There’s a holy well there, which the holy family drank from.
Al-Bahnasa
One of the most important places, where the holy family went to is al-Bahnasa.
Virgin Mary church got built in the 15th century there. There were about 30000 monks and nuns.
Gabal al-Tayr
From al-Bahnasa the holy family went west to Samalut, and from Samalut they crossed the nile and went south to Gabal al-Tayr. It’s a mountain.
Now there’s a famous church for Virgin Mary built over the mountain.
Al-Ashmunayn
After leaving Gabal al-Tayr, they went to al-Ashmunayn. where there are many antiquities of different eras in history.
Dayrut al-Sharif
The holy family went south from al-Ashmunayn to Dayru al-Sharif.
It was called “Philis” when the holy family went there.
Qasqam
From Dayrut al-Sharif they went to the village “Qasqam”.
As they entered, all statues there, which people worshiped, collapsed. So they got kicked out Qasqam.
Dayr al-Muharraq
the most prominent location in the Holy Family’s itinerary in Egypt is Dayr al-Muharraq, the name means the monastery scorched by fire in Arabic referring to the desiccated desert around as well as occasional burning of ruderal vegetation. According to tradition, this is the place that the Holy Family stayed for six months and five days, and where Jesus, after his Resurrection, returned and consecrated an altar in order to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 19:19, in that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt. The location of the monastery is roughly the geographical center of the African Egypt.
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