The revival of the "Way of the Holy Family", an itinerary to make
pilgrimages to the places that, according to ancient local traditions,
were crossed by the Holy Family during their exile in Egypt, continues
to be the focus of initiatives, proposals and lively debate involving
politicians and Egyptian tourism operators.
In recent days Al Abdel Aal,
President of the Egyptian House of Representatives, during a visit to
the offices of the Coptic Patriarchate, reiterated that the development
of the tourism project to be set out following the paths carried out in
Egypt by Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus, concerns and involves all
Egyptians, not just Christians.
The statements of intent expressed by the President of the Egyptian
Parliament gave a reply to Moataz Sayed, vice-president of the tourist
guides Association in Egypt, noting that so far the promises expressed
by politicians about the development of the "Way" have had no effective
results, despite the commitments made in the past by ministers and prime
ministers, starting from Ibrahim Mahalab, Egyptian Prime Minister from
March 2014 till September 2015.
The first proposals for improvement of the "Way of the Holy Family" date back to twenty years ago.
According to Egyptian tour operators, the Ministry of Tourism is the
public body which should be in charge of the project, integrating the
infrastructures and encouraging the construction of roads and hotels
that revolve around the places where one keeps the memory of the passage
of the Holy Family in Egypt.
At the end of 2016 - local sources consulted by Agenzia Fides report - a
Committee for the revival of the Way of the Holy Family was formed at
the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, under the presidency of Hisham el
Demeiri, former head of the Egyptian Authority for the promotion of
tourism, the body that in Cairo oversaw the recent restoration of the
Abu Sarga cave church, dating back to the fifth century, built,
according to local tradition, in the place where the Holy Family rested
before starting their return trip in Palestine.
Last September (see Fides 23/09/2016), during the Economic Conference of
New Jersey, organized by the American Coptic Association, 24 members of
the Egyptian Parliament pledged their political and institutional
commitment to favor the concrete implementation of the "Holy Family
project" and to make Egypt a pilgrimage attraction to be proposed
especially to Christians around the world.
According to supporters of the initiative, the tourist development of
the "Way of the Holy Family" could increase the annual share of tourists
in Egypt by at least one million units, with pilgrimages concentrated
especially at Christmas time. Two years ago (see Fides 21/10/2014) the
ideal path of the pilgrimage on the footsteps of the Holy family in
Egypt had been identified, which should start from the town of Al-Arish
in northern Sinai, then head towards the delta and Wadi Natrun, and
reach Assiut and the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, known as the
Monastery of Al-Muharraq.