We had made reservations at the Holy Family Hotel, a few miles north of Minya, based on the recommendations of our friends at Egypt Equine Aid who had recently stayed there. The accommodations are excellent (see reviews on Trip Advisor) with the added bonus of being a great value for anyone with an Egyptian identity card.
In the western Christian tradition, the flight of the Jesus, Mary and Joseph into Egypt is given only brief mention in the gospel of Matthew, 2:13. The Coptic church maintains a much more detailed tradition surrounding the escape from King Herod and Egypt holds a large number of sites memorializing the journey with landmarks ranging from village wells to churches and monasteries. A significant number of miracles are associated with the journey, as well.
Egypt's ministry of Tourism is developing a 25-stop Holy Family Trail to preserve many of the sites and boost Christian tourism, according to this BBC report from 2022.
The recently completed Holy Family Hotel sits adjacent to a large church and monastery that is one of the most significant sites along the trail. the Church of the Virgin Mary at Gabal Al-Teir was built in 328 AD by the Byzantine empress Helena (mother of the emperor Constantine) in memory of the passage of the Holy Family in Egypt.
We reached the entrance to the hotel late in the afternoon and checked in, taking advantage of some rest time after our long day on the road and at the hillside tombs.
Our room was comfortably large
and had a balcony with table and chairs and a terrific view of the Nile and surrounding agricultural area.
Although half-board was included in our room price, after resting up a bit, we headed back down to the city of Minya to find a restaurant for dinner. Although only about twelve miles as the crow flies, it is a fairly slow twenty-five mile drive back down the eastern side of the Nile to actually reach Minya. Although the surrounding area is largely agricultural - its the source of much of Egypt's molasses production - the town itself has a population of almost 300,000 and has a lively downtown stretching along the Nile. Fun fact: Egyptians refer to molasses as black honey.
We found a pleasant restaurant with the usual Egyptian configuration of kitchen on the first floor and dining area on the second and had an excellent dinner for four (the two of us, Roshdy and our driver) for about $50.
After dinner, we had the benefit of local directions on our return trip to the hotel. Driving up the west side of the Nile for about ten miles led us to a ferry that crossed the river and deposited us at the base of the hill upon which the brightly lit monastery and hotel were perched. This cut the return time in half and made for an interesting river crossing.
Back on top of the hill we passed beneath numerous depictions of the sacred heart of Jesus in the hands of the virgin Mary as we approached the ancient church and modern hotel.
The next morning, we had a chance to see the ferry route in operation.
Heading down to the dining room, we were served a full breakfast
including excellent omelettes.
Before heading out to the next archeological sites, we toured the nearby ancient church and monastery.
Just a few steps away from the front door of the hotel lies the Deir Gabal Al-Tayr Church, also known as the Virgin Mary Church. This is the church dating from 328 AD constructed at the request of Queen Helena, mother of emperor Constantine. A good deal of renovation has taken place in recent years and the interior shrines are beautiful.
Remnants from the building's earlier use as a Roman temple are preserved in a small museum room.
The interior of the church itself has a number of beautiful works of art.
Moving on to the nearby monastery, we found additional paintings and shrines.
The interior chapel of the monastery was particularly well-decorated with Coptic art.
Visiting the neighborhood adjacent to the church and monastery we found a few local merchants selling snacks including peanuts and a locally produced wine.
After that tour of the area near the hotel, we were ready to set out for another day's tour of local archeological sites.
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