An in-depth interview with Adel El Gendy on Egypt’s Holy Family Trail, a UNESCO-recognized pilgrimage route that blends spirituality, heritage, sustainability, and interfaith unity.
Mary's tree at Matariyya, Cairo Silvia Costantini
People visiting the Hanging church in Old Cairo Francesco Lorenzetti - Shutterstock
Explore Egypt’s Route of the Holy Family, a journey through oases, monasteries, and sacred sites that preserve the living memory of Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus. A unique blend…
Egyptian koshari, traditional Egyptian food hussein farar - Shutterstock
Koshari appears at first glance as a striking combination of rice, pasta, lentils, spiced tomato sauce, and crisp fried onions. Yet this mixture reflects centuries of agricultural continuity, global exchange,…
Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Luc-Olivier Merson, 1879, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Public Domain
Discover how five Gospel verses on the Flight into Egypt became Egypt’s 25-stop Holy Family Route, a living Coptic landscape where memory, faith and culture meet.
Dronka Monastery Inma Alvarez
Dronka Monastery near Asyut marks the southernmost point of the Holy Family’s journey in Egypt and remains a major Marian pilgrimage site.
Central altar of Al-Muharraq monastery Inma Alvarez
Deir el-Muharraq (Al-Muharraq Monastery) in Asyut is a key Holy Family site, famed for the Virgin’s ancient church over a cave, monastic life since the 4th century, and pilgrimage traditions
Impressive Coptic altarpiece in stone at Gabal al Tair Inma Alvarez
Deir Gabal Al-Tayr, in Minya, is an ancient monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary and one of the landmarks of the Holy Family Route, situated on the cliffs of the…
Icon on the walls of Maadi Church, El Cairo Inma Alvarez
Church of Santa Maria de Maadi, on the banks of the Nile: the staircase of the Holy Family, Coptic domes and icons that narrate a key place of the sacred…
Intern of the Hanging Church in Old Cairo Matyas Rehak - Shutterstock
The Hanging Church of Cairo, a Coptic jewel “suspended” over the fortress of Babylon: tradition of the Holy Family, unique icons and centuries of patriarchal history