Holy Family Tour in Egypt: Everything You Need to Know

The Holy Family Tour in Egypt is one of the most fascinating, spiritually rewarding, and culturally engaging travel opportunities you could imagine. Follow in the footsteps of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as they escaped King Herod with a 3500 plus kilometre tour through Egypt tracing their three and a half-year journey through the Nile Delta, Cairo, the Nitrian Desert, and Upper Egypt.

Today, this tour has been re-branded and upgraded by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiques for the benefit of visitors, pilgrims, and historians seeking to retrace the steps of the Holy Family.

Below, you will find the Holy Family Tour in Egypt: Everything You Need to Know.

Holy Bible Storyline and Pilgrimage Trail

According to the New Testament Book of St. Matthew, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and directed him to flee Bethlehem with the infant Jesus to avoid his newborn son being killed by King Herod's soldiers. The family escaped to Egypt, where they spent around three and a half years before returning to Judea.

The modern-day trail runs through ancient Roman ramparts, isolated desert monasteries, rock-hewn cliffside sanctuaries, and trees; a pilgrimage through early Christian history and ancient Coptic traditions.

The Holy Family Itinerary Includes These Key Stops

While there are 25 official waypoints on the trail, most tours focus on these key destinations representing Egypt's most important historical and religious sites tied to the Holy Family's journey:

A. Coptic Cairo (The Core of the Itinerary)

This old district serves as the crossroads for many of the historical itineraries, including:

Church of Abu Serga (St. Sergius and St. Bacchus): A 4th-century church built over the rocky crypt where the Holy Family took shelter after their arrival in Egypt.

The Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa): A 9th-century church built over the ancient Roman fortress of Babylon, which was not where Jesus and his family hid. This is the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope.

Virgin Mary Church in Maadi: This church is located on the banks of the Nile, where tradition holds that the Holy Family boarded a sailboat heading south towards Upper Egypt.

Virgin Mary's Tree in Matariya: This is an ancient sycamore tree where Mary is said to have rested under while a spring miraculously broke out nearby.

B. The Nile Delta (The Northern Shelters)

Tell Basta (Bubastis): The northernmost town the Holy Family is believed to have passed through, where Jesus is said to have created a spring of water in a scorched desert.

Sakha (Kafr El Sheikh): Local legend has it that Saint Bikha Isous, a miracle-working Coptic Christian saint, stepped on a rock, leaving the footprint of the infant Jesus, which can be seen carved into a stone inside the local Church of the Virgin Mary.

Mustorod (Al-Mahamma): The village of "the bathing place" is where Mary is said to have bathed the baby Jesus in a local spring which is still a site of pilgrimage.

C. Wadi El Natrun (The Nitrian Desert Monasteries)

This quiet valley off the road between Cairo and Alexandria hosts some of Egypt's most important 4th-century Christian monasteries built on the rocky outcrops where the early Christian saints once took shelter.

Monastery of St. Bishoy (Deir Anba Bishoy)

Monastery of El-Suryan (The Syrian Monastery)

Monastery of El-Baramus

Monastery of St. Macarius (Abu Makar)

D. Middle & Upper Egypt (The Cliffside Monasteries)

Gabal Al-Teir (Minya): A cliffside monastery built over a cave in which the Holy Family took shelter. According to local tradition, a stone falling from a cliff miraculously stopped mid-air when it passed the infant Jesus, leaving a visible imprint of his palm on the rock.

Monastery of Al-Muharraq (Asyut): Located at the base of Mount Qusqam, it is the most southerly of the monasteries visited on this tour. The Holy Family spent more than six months in a cave on the mountain which now forms the altar of an ancient church believed to be one of the oldest churches in the world.

Drunka Monastery (Asyut): This 4th-century monastery is built into the cliffs overlooking the Nile Valley. It was the southernmost point the Holy Family reached before receiving the message that it was safe to return home.

An Example 7-Day Holy Family Tour Itinerary

Days 1-2: Cairo & Coptic Quarter – Sample highlights of this fascinating city with a visit to the Hanging Church and Abu Serga's crypt, the Coptic Museum, the Virgin Mary Tree in Matariya, and the riverbank church in Maadi.

Day 3: Day-trip to Wadi El Natrun Monasteries – Discover the medieval keeps and courtyards of some of Egypt's most important Christian monasteries.

Days 4-5: Day-trip to Minya & the Gabal Al-Teir Monastery – Take a road trip down the Nile to discover the cliffside monastery of Gabal Al-Teir and its surrounds.

Days 6-7: Asyut – Discover the ancient monastic history of Minya before heading back to Cairo or on to Luxor.

The tour extends for around 3,500 km across Sinai, the Nile Delta, Cairo, Wadi El Natrun, and Upper Egypt. The family spent 3.5 years in Egypt, according to the Coptic Church. This tour has 25 key landmarks endorsed by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiques.

The main attractions of a Holy Family tour are the ancient crypts carved into caves, the miraculous springs, and the desert monasteries carved into cliff-faces.

Concluding Remarks

A tour of the sites associated with the Holy Family in Egypt is an intriguing way to learn about history and culture while discovering early Christian traditions and landmarks. From the crypts beneath Old Cairo to the desert monasteries of Wadi El Natrun to the clifftop views over the Nile Valley in Asyut, a journey retracing the steps of the Holy Family makes for a most memorable experience.