According to the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus fled to Egypt to escape King Herod. Coptic tradition records the route they took through the country, and more than 20 places in Egypt are honored as stops on their journey. Many are still churches and monasteries visited by pilgrims today.
The Holy Family in EgyptThe route
Tradition says the Holy Family entered Egypt across northern Sinai, then traveled through the eastern Delta, including Tell Basta and Mostorod. They rested at Wadi el-Natrun, where famous monasteries later grew up, then came to Old Cairo, where they sheltered in a cave now under the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Coptic Cairo. From Maadi they took a boat south, remembered at the Church of the Virgin Mary. In Upper Egypt they stayed for about six months at the place where the Monastery of al-Muharraq now stands, near Assiut, before returning home.
Visiting the sites
In Cairo, you can easily visit Abu Serga, the Hanging Church and the Church of the Virgin in Maadi in one day. Longer pilgrimages add Wadi el-Natrun, Gabal al-Tayr near Minya and Deir al-Muharraq. Egypt has been developing the route, the Holy Family Trail, for visitors. See our spiritual tours.
