By Rehab Saad Blessed be Egypt my people (Isaiah 19:25) Take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt (Matthew 2:13) Out of Egypt have I called my son (Matthew 2:15) Who would have thought that these Bible verses would one day appear in the publicity material of a number of major travel agents, helping them define their star attraction? Yet it would seem that pilgrimage is once again the order of the day. As the century draws to a close, Egypt is embarking on a major programme to remind people throughout the world of one of the major events of biblical history: the flight of the Holy Family. During their time in Egypt, Jesus, Mary and Joseph visited many places. Both the Ministry of Tourism and various travel offices are encouraging people to retrace the steps of their 'great escape' from King Herod. To this end, itineraries have been specially prepared, which can form the centrepiece of a holiday combining sight-seeing, culture, history and devotion. Egypt's attempt to revive the ancient spirit of pilgrimage is now enshrined in a book describing the route taken by the Holy Family. Published by the Ministry of Tourism, with the approval of Pope Shenoudah III of the Coptic Orthodox Church, it has already been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Greek and Japanese. "We sent a team of photographers to track down the major destinations on the itinerary and take pictures," said Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui. He added that he was confident the present campaign would lead to "an influx of people who believe in God and who are fond of our civilisation." The minister said he regarded the book as a message to the whole world. "Our country was always, and still is, a land of refuge, co-existence and peace." But will appealing to people's spiritual sensibilities work? "I personally believe that such a package will attract many people who do not normally come to Egypt," said Stephen Newbiggin of Thomas Cook. However, as always, it is not enough to get the spiritual right; the mundane and the material also have to be on side. "Before we begin to promote the Flight," Newbiggin said, "we need to know what facilities we can offer tourists. We should bear in mind that a part of that route runs through Middle Egypt, that there are some locations which have never been set up for tourism and that worshippers in monasteries and churches might be disturbed by the presence of lots of people. Thus we have to make sure that all these sites meet the expectations of the customer. I cannot get people to places without ensuring that they will have proper facilities and proper service." Assiut provides a good example of what Newbiggin means. "We have to know what the latest security measures are and whether it is advisable to travel by bus or by air. If it is by bus, will it be escorted, and if by air, are there regular flights to that destination? Are there enough hotels for those who want to stay overnight?" he asked. According to George Ghobrial, a tourism expert and member of the committee responsible for preparing the official route, all these questions have been addressed. "We are working hard to make this itinerary possible," he told the Weekly. "Members of the committee are touring the sites on the route to investigate whether they are accessible or not, whether there are enough facilities for tourists, whether the number of hotels is adequate, and so forth. It is on that basis that we decide which sites should be put on the official itinerary." He added that the governors of the provinces concerned had expressed their willingness to cooperate. "I believe that by February there will be many reservations, especially from the Russians, Greeks and Americans," he added. Even mysteries of faith, as is well known, can lead to rivalry between nations. Some Egyptian travel agents are worried about how to elaborate a marketing strategy to defeat competition from other countries. "We should work hard, starting now, to try to sell the Flight into Egypt all over the world," said Ghobrial. "Israel, for example, has already allocated millions of dollars to marketing the Holy Land [as a "Christian" destination]," he added. Raouf Ghali, former head of the chamber of travel agencies, went further, pointing out that the Flight of the Holy Family had started in Bethlehem in Palestine, according to biblical and other religious texts. "Does this mean that travellers will first go to Bethlehem and then come to Egypt?" he asked. Yet most tourism experts agree on the need for coordination rather than competition. After all, as the millennium draws to a close and people begin to think less of the material and more of the spiritual, there should be enough suitably-motivated tourists to go round. Rafik Boutros of Ket Tours, who have specialised in religious tourism since 1980, believes that Egypt is in a unique position to attract people interested in the Gospel story. "Jesus Christ lived in Palestine, and the only other country he travelled to was Egypt, with his mother the Virgin Mary and St Joseph. The Holy Family lived in Egypt for several years and spent time in roughly 21 different places. There are no comparable bible stories anywhere else," he said. The path of the Flight begins in northeast Sinai and ends at what is now Deir Al-Moharraq in the Western Desert in Middle Egypt, having passed through such places as Tel Basta, Sakha, Wadi Al-Natroun, Al-Bahnasa, Gabal Al-Tair, Ashmunein and Dairut. As Boutros pointed out, "No other country has a well like that at Tel Basta from which the Holy Family drank. No other country has a place like Sakha where the child Jesus left his footprint on a rock. Is there any place in the world that can compare to Babylon and the cave of Abu Serga where the Holy Family took refuge? Or to Deir Al-Moharraq near Assiut, where they lived for six months?" Egypt needs to be prepared for all the visitors when they come. It needs to remind people around the world that there is more to its heritage than the Sphinx and the Pyramids. But the original act of "promotion" has already been done, when King Herod rose up in his wrath, and the angel came to Joseph in the night, telling him to lead his wife and child into Egypt.
