Today, Egypt celebrates the entry of the Holy Family onto its soil, thereby blessing it. We consider the very arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ along with His Mother, the Virgin Mary, accompanied by St. Joseph the Carpenter, and Salome the nurse, as one of the most significant events to occur in our precious Egypt during its prolonged history. The Holy Scriptures make mention of several prophecies about this precise journey. The Prophet Isaiah predicted: “Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.” [Isaiah 19:1]. Cited Hosea the Prophet: “And out of Egypt I called My son.” [Hosea 11:1] While Isaiah specified that a church would rise in the midst of the land of Egypt: “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt.” [Isaiah19:19-20] This prophecy was fulfilled involving the ancient St. Mary’s Church in Al-Muharraq Monastery of Asiut. In this exact location, the Holy Family resided over six months.
Advent of the Holy Family
The flight of the Holy Family commenced when an angel appeared to Joseph the carpenter in a dream, following the Magi’s visit to the Family, warning him of King Herod, who was seeking the life of Jesus Christ… “saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”” [Mat. 2:13] Thus, Joseph swiftly took the Boy and His Mother, fleeing to Egypt, all executed during the night.
Travels & Incidents
Many a historic reference testified that the Holy Family spent over three and a half years in Egypt, traveling from Bethlehem in Palestine in compliance with the command of the angel, to Gaza towards the Al-Zaraniq (Al-Floussiat) Sanctuary, 37 kilometers west of Al-Areesh; to delve into the land of Egypt from the north of Sinai via Al-Farma which lies between the two towns of Al-Areesh and Port Said. Then the Holy Family arrived at the city of Tel-Basta (Bastah) near the town of Zagazig in the province of Al-Sharqeya, where the Lord Jesus Christ burst a spring of water, and where all idols toppled to the ground upon His very arrival. This occasioned dread and disturbance among the town’s inhabitants, so they mistreated the Holy Family, in an attempt to drive them out of town, to head south.
Upon leaving Tel-Basta, going south, the Holy Family arrived at the township of Musturud (Al-Mahamma), so named because the Virgin Mary bathed Jesus Christ and washed His clothes there. The Family passed by this township once more on its way back, and again the Lord Christ produced a spring of water there, which exists to this very day.
Then the Holy Family threaded their way from Musturud in the north, eastbound to the city of Bilbeis Philippos in the Bilbeis County of the Al-Sharqeya Province. There, they took shelter under a tree later known as “Mary’s Tree”. After which the Holy Family headed north to pass through Zagazig and continue traversing to Menyiet Samannoud (Menyiet Genah), passing through the township of Daqadous, where they drank from one of its wells.
The River Nile was blessed by the Holy Family as it passed from Menyiet Samannoud to the city of Samannoud (Jemnouti – Theb Nathr) in the Delta, where they were received by the inhabitants with welcoming celebrations. So much so that Jesus Christ blessed this population, as He also blessed one of the city’s wells, and it’s said that during their stay there, the Virgin Mary kneaded dough in a large bowl made of granite, which exists to this point in time.
The Holy Family resumed its journey from the city of Samannoud to an area called Al-Burollos to reach the town of Sakha, which is currently in the province of Kafr Al-Sheikh. It’s told that the Footprint of the Lord Christ appeared on one of its rocks, which had been hidden, only to be unearthed in 1984. During these travels from Samannoud to Sakha, the Holy Family passed through many of the towns affiliated to the provinces of Al-Gharbeya and Kafr Al-Sheikh, some even saying that they passed on their way through the wilderness of Belqas.
From Sakha, the Holy Family went once more across the River Nile (the Rosetta branch) to the west of the Delta, heading south to the Al-Natrun Valley (Wadi Al-Natrun), called the Scetis Wilderness. Thus the Wilderness of Scetis was equally blessed by the Holy Family. On their way there, they passed by the Al-Humra Fountain, where the Lord Christ had made a spring of sweet waters well up, which was labeled “Mary’s Well”, positioned in the midst of the lakes filled with nitrate salt.
Then the Holy Family headed from Al-Natrun Valley (Wadi Al-Natrun) south to the city of Cairo, crossing the River Nile to the eastern bank towards Al-Matariyyah and Ain Shams. At the time, a large number of Jews were residing in Ain Shams, and they had a temple called “Unias”. In Al-Matariyyah, the Holy Family took shelter under a tree, to leave us a glorious antiquity, the tree known as “Mary’s Tree”, and again the Lord Christ created a flowing spring of water to drink and blessed it. Historians mention that the Virgin Mary washed the Lord Christ’s clothes in that well, she then poured the water out on the ground, so it sprang forth as Balsam, some scented plant.
The next leg of the Holy Family’s journey was from Al-Matariyyah and Ain Shams, on foot, to Old Cairo, along the way resting for a while in the area of Al-Zeitoun. Moreover, en route, they passed through downtown Cairo, where we currently have the ancient St. Mary’s Church in the Zuweila Alley, as well as Al-Ezbaweya in the area of Klut Bey. No sooner had the Holy Family set foot in Old Cairo than all the idols therein fell to pieces, immensely provoking the governor (Wali) of Al-Fustat, who sought to have Jesus Christ killed, so the Holy Family could not linger there for long and rushed to move southward to reach the Maadi area (Memphis, the capital of Old Cairo). One of the most valuable monuments left behind by the Holy Family in Old Cairo was the cave or grotto in which it took refuge in the Church of Abu Serga.
From Old Cairo, the Holy Family set sail in a sailboat on the Nile heading south to Upper Egypt, from the very same spot on which has been constructed the St. Mary’s Church now. The stone staircase on which the Holy Family descended to the Nile banks still exists to this day. En route, it passed by the village of Ashneen Al-Nasara, heading to the village of Deir Al-Garnous in the county of Maghagha, wherein lies a deep well said to have quenched the Holy Family’s thirst. They also passed by an area called the “Home of Jesus” east of Al-Bahnasa, which is now the location of the Sandafa village (Beni Mazar).
The Holy Family traveled from the township of Al-Bahnasa south to Samalout Township, crossing the Nile eastbound, where now lies the St. Mary’s Monastery, in Jebel Al-Tayr, east of Samalout. The mountain is known as “Jebel Al-Tayr”, because thousands of birds of a species called Al-Buqeiris gathered there. It was also known as “Jebel Al-Kaff”, because of an incident that befell the Holy Family on its trip. Coptic tradition holds that during the Holy Family’s crossing of the River Nile, passing adjacent to the mountain, a large rock nearly fell on them, so the Lord Christ extended His Hand, preventing it from falling, and His Palm left an imprint on the rock.
From Jebel Al-Tayr to Sheikh Ebada (the Al-Sahaba well in Ansena), where the Lord Christ sprung a well of flowing sweet water. Then the Holy Family passed through the village of Beni Hassan headed south, crossing the River Nile again to Al-Rawda westbound to reach Al-Ashmonein. Many a source has mentioned that in this township plenty of wonders took place, its idols falling apart, the town having been blessed by the Holy Family. Next the Family headed to Dairout Um Nakhla in the south, where the Lord Christ caused another well of sweet water to gush. Then on foot they continued to Mallawi (Deir Al-Malak), crossing the Nile eastbound to reach Tel Al-Amarna. On the way, they rested on a hill at Deir Abu Hens, which is called “Maria’s Hill”, then resuming their travels. The Holy Family sailed from Tel Al-Amarna south towards Dairout Al-Sharif, then to a village called Qusqam (Qust – Qouseya), where the idol worshipped by the town’s inhabitants fell to pieces, so they evicted the Holy Family, yet later the town was to fall to ruins. On the contrary, the Holy Family then headed to the township of Meer (Meerah) west of Al-Qouseya, whose inhabitants generously hosted them, earning the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother the Virgin Mary.
The Family moved from Meer to Jebel Qusqam, where now lies the Al-Muharraq Monastery. There they resided six months and ten days in a grotto which is now the altar of the ancient St. Mary’s Church in the monastery. There the Holy Family settled until the angel manifested itself to Joseph once more, “saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His Mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” “[Mat. 2:20], so the Holy Family headed back to Palestine.
On the return journey, the Holy Family led a different path inclined south to Jebel Asiut in the west, which they blessed. From there to Old Cairo, then Al-Matariyyah, Al-Mahamma (Musturud), then to Sinai and on to Palestine, where they returned to the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
Egypt is rightfully considered the sole country visited by the Holy Family, which resided there, earning the ultimate blessing that lasts over the course of time, to be preserved in the history of this ancient nation in luminous letters. Egypt was visited by the Lord Christ, Who blessed it exclusively. Of spectacular Egypt, there are endless things to be narrated…!
His Grace Bishop Ermia [Jeremiah]
General Bishop
President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
