The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has finished publishing a catalog of the Stations of the Holy Family's Journey in Egypt in both Arabic and English
Mohamed Abdel-Latif: The catalog is a documented encyclopedia of stations and the route line for the family ... and the product of fieldwork for places that represent the intangible heritage
Documenting the stations of the itinerary of the Holy Family’s journey in Egypt places it on the UNESCO World Heritage List and opens the door to the Christian pilgrimage
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has finished printing and issuing a catalog of “Stations from the Journey of the Holy Family in Egypt” in Arabic and English. It is an encyclopedia documented by the stations and route of the Holy Family's route in Egypt.
This catalog or encyclopedia was one of the works in which he participated and supervised its archaeological and scientific content, Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Abdel-Latif, the former assistant minister of antiquities, professor of Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Mansoura University, and the current dean of the faculty during his tenure as delegating to the ministry in its first phase when he was working The position of head of the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities sector, in the first mandate during the reign of Dr. Mamdouh Al-Damati, the former Minister of Antiquities, who witnessed his initiation and the start of registering these antiquities as happens with the Pharaonic antiquities and other civilizations, and he had the lead in this, and this registration was completed in the second mandate stage With Dr. Khaled Al-Anani, the former Minister of Antiquities, and the current Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, he sought help from him as his assistant for the archaeological areas and chose him to carry out coordination and follow-up to document the journey of the Holy Family's path in an encyclopedia in cooperation with the Egyptian Church and other research bodies.
On the encyclopedia that came to light after a long period of time in which this sacred journey was dated, Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels Mansoura University, and the former Assistant Minister of Antiquities for Archaeological Areas Affairs and the former head of the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities Sector, said that he feels proud to have this catalog completed Which is considered a pre-historical encyclopedia as it is a denba that illustrates the stages of the tourist pilgrimage to the areas visited by the Holy Family of Egypt.
Stations from the journey of the Holy Family in Egypt
Abd al-Latif added, that the trip of the Holy Family is a unique event that God singled out to the land of Egypt, and no other country in the world received that blessed visit, and that is why this trip has a great religious value for all Egyptians, Christians and Muslims, and for all Christians in the world with their various sects and churches, as well as this trip has an archaeological value. It is historical, as it contains the stations of the path of that visit with monuments and archaeological evidence expressing that trip, referred to and mentioned by historical sources and references, and also contains other places that represent the immaterial heritage that expresses the passage of the Holy Family to these places, which number approximately between 22 to 25 archaeological and historical sites.
He continues, saying: The truth is that the Egyptian Coptic Church assumed a special religious position among the Christian churches in the world, due to its connection with the trip of the Holy Family to Egypt, as Egypt was a haven for everyone looking for safety, so its land was not alien to the prophets of God. Peace be upon him and Yusef, peace be upon him, delegated to her, and Yusef al-Najjar cracked what he ordered, and came to Egypt with the virgin virgin and her child on the holy journey.
Also, the Holy Family did not settle in one place in Egypt, but rather moved between its sides from the coast of Sinai to the Nile Delta until it reached the middle of Upper Egypt, stressing that this holy journey is one of the exceptional Egyptian heritage internationally, which reflects a heritage linked to the Egyptian people, as it is a fertile source for narratives. Among the Christians of Egypt, it is inherited by the generations that deliberately recorded it in many religious and historical sources, including the Holy Book, Synaxar, the Memorial, and the rare manuscripts kept in the monasteries and Coptic churches in Egypt.
It should be noted that the Holy Family entered Egypt through the Sinai desert from the side of Al-Arish and Al-Farma, to travel to many Egyptian cities, which were divided by the Coptic religious and historical sources into three stages: the first (Al-Arish - Al-Farma - Tel Basta - Mostorod - Belbeis - Samanoud city - Sakha - Wadi al-Natrun), the second (Matareya - Babylon in ancient Egypt - Memph - Maadi), and the third phase (Bahnasa - Jabal al-Tair - Ashmonin - Veles - Qusqam - Mir - Mount Qusqam - Mount Darnaka, and the Holy Family stayed in some cities for a week or so A few days, and in other cities a month or more, and the longest period of her stay was in Mount Qusqam, where she spent 185 days, and the Holy Family lasted about four years in Egypt until the death of "Herod" the king, and "Arcialos" ruled in his place.
Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Abdel-Latif confirms that, due to the great importance of the Holy Family's journey, Egypt has taken care of that great journey, and the official authorities have combined efforts to highlight this holy journey and define it so that it takes its proper place among the religious and tourist archaeological sites in Egypt and at the global level, and among the main destinations Entrusted with these efforts in the success of the path of the Holy Family's journey, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, which completed the restoration and equipping of many important archaeological sites associated with that trip, was honored to be commissioned to participate in these works, the latest of which was the issuance of a new catalog in Arabic and English entitled “Stations from the Journey of the Holy Family in Egypt “from the Holy Family's Journey through Egypt”.
He explained that as part of the work of documenting the stations of the path of the journey of the Holy Family in Egypt on the UNESCO World Heritage List, he was honored to supervise the preparation of this work with a team of distinguished young researchers at the Ministry of Antiquities, including Dr. Ahmed Abdel Hamid Al-Nimr and Amr Abdel Karim, and the idea of this catalog It is a simple and attractive photographic document that introduces a group of the stations of the Holy Family's journey, which are the monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun, the Tree of Mary, the Church of Abu Sarjah, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Jabal al-Tair in Minya and Deir al-Muharraq in Assiut. Heritage is one of the manifestations of the various celebrations, supported by maps that show the stations and the route, which will greatly contribute to defining the trip and promoting it locally and internationally to benefit from it archaeological, tourist and economically.
