EGYPT - The "Way of the Holy Family" Project Takes Off, Despite the Pandemic

Agenzia Fides ^ | 1/5/21

[marshmallow]

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The "Way of the Holy Family" is "the Christmas gift that Egypt gives to the world". Even the pandemic, which has also paralyzed tourism around the world, has not stopped the great project supported by the Egyptian authorities aimed at opening up to international pilgrimages the itinerary that unites places crossed, according to millenila traditions, by Mary, Joseph and the Child Jesus when they were in Egypt to escape the violence of Herod. This was reiterated at the beginning of 2021 by Adel al Gindy, director general of International Relations at the Authority for the Development of Tourism and Coordinator of the project.

In a long interview, relaunched by wataninet.com, the engineer explained in detail the progress of the project, providing detailed information on the works already carried out or in progress to make each stage of the itinerary accessible to tourists and pilgrims according to the standards of reception corresponding to the criteria (including those of environmental sustainability) defined by the World Tourism Organization. The project, already defined in detail, is relaunched on the occasion of Christmas - which Coptic Christians celebrate on 7 January -, while the investment plan, which includes a substantial contribution from private financiers and international organizations, will be exposed in detail within the next two months.

The "Way" unites 25 places dear to the memory of Egyptian Christians, winding along an itinerary of 3,500 kilometers, which crosses 11 Governorates, from the Nile Delta to Upper Egypt. Once developed, the "Way" will represent one of the largest religious pilgrimage routes in the world. The project represents an investment not only economic but also ideal for the entire Egyptian nation, also stricken by the pandemic. The expectation of the end of the pandemic in Egypt is also based on the hope of........

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Rest on the Flight into Egypt

by Luc Oliver merson

"Fleeing persecution at the hands of Roman authorities, the Holy Family takes refuge in Egypt. Joseph dozes beside a dying campfire while his donkey grazes on sparse desert grass. At left the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus, crowned with a halo of light, sleep peacefully in the arms of a sphinx, its eyes turned to the heavens where the first stars have begun to appear. A successful artist within the French Academy, Merson never traveled to North Africa, but his use of archeological detail creates the illusion of an eyewitness account—breathing new life into a time‑honored subject."

from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. One of my Faves!

ML/LTOS