Tourists are flocking to Egypt's Minia region because some are claiming to have seen the "Virgin Mary." Made-up or not, apparition talks are good for Egypt's tourism industry.
Rumors about an apparition of the Virgin Mary in the sky have been circulating around Minia in Egypt. One apparently took place during a Christian feast. Another such rumor spread again a few months ago during the Virgin’s Festival at the Monastery of al-Tayr Mountain in Samalut, northern village of al-Minia. Nada Muhamad Ali of Sawt al-Umma said some people attending the festival claimed they have seen the Virgin surrounded by white doves over the mount.Over two million Christians, sometimes including Muslims, gather annually at the mountaintop church in the al-Tayr, a village north of Minya, Upper Egypt. People celebrate the annual moulid of the Holy Virgin, a popular celebration of a saint’s day or birthday and tradition going back to the ancient Egyptians, and involves a religious ceremony, festival song and dance, buying and selling, and the popular fastfood stalls, said Teresa Kamal of Al Watani International. The religious moulid itself promised no apparition, but was packed nevertheless.Hani Aziz, one of the festival’s visitors, said he has seen the image of Mary in the skies surrounded by white doves the night the fire broke out. But Coptic Christian thinker Jamal Asad said the legend of the apparition during the festival was just made-up. Ali said Asad confirmed it was merely a story spread by some folks in order to bring in more visitors and potential customers to the area. Rumors may have also been started to show that Egypt’s Christians can have miracles while Muslims cannot, reported Ali.Whether just hearsay or real images, Marian phenomenon isn’t happening, however, for the first time in the land of the pharaohs.Back in 2000, southern Egypt made headlines when church officials confirmed thousands of Christians have reported sightings of Mary in Assiut. Father Mina Hanna, secretary of the Assiut’s Council of Churches reported people slept on the streets around the Church of St. Mark to see the apparitions. They stood on rooftops for a glimpse.Christians in Assiut said the first apparition came two-and-a-half weeks in a row but that there have since been several more. Images of the Virgin Mary with outstretched hands and a light emanating from them, accompanied a smell of incense and large numbers of pigeons, dazzled by-standers, said officials. Birds seem to be a common element of the sightings.Assiut is believed to be one spot the "Holy Family" visited for six months and 10 days after fleeing from Bethlehem in Palestine onwards to Egypt. The site is marked by the Church of the Holy Virgin, built in March 1960. A monastery in the area is the Holy Virgin Monastery on the western mountain of Assiut about 10 km southwest of the city. More than 100 meters above the Nile Valley plain, inside the mountain is a cave that dates back to 2500 BC apparently used by the Holy Family on their return journey to Bethlehem. A monastery was built close to this cave. Outside the cave is another rock-cut church of the Virgin and the Archangel Michael. Two churches are carved between rock layers projecting from the mountain, some 170 meters above the ground; giving it the name Hanging Monastery.If apparitions caused migration and increased visitations, it is fascinating to note how one leader used it to his own advantage. President Nasser spared no time in cashing in himself. During his presidency, the church and the government enjoyed a good relationship, especially since Nasser’s policies were in favor of secularization. He was quite capable of using religion for his own good, as he cast the Virgin’s apparition in 1968 in a political light to cheer up his people, presenting the event as a sign of heavenly support for his very own policies, said Wael Abdul Fattah of Sawt al-Umma.Apparitions may have blended well with the tourism program highlighting the path of the "Holy Family" in Egypt, which includes 25 religious destinations. Member of the Association for the Revival of the Egyptian National Heritage or NEHRA Samir Mitri Jayyid, once said the journey of the Holy Family can serve as a major tourist attraction in Egypt. True to then tourism minister Mamdouh Beltagui’s words, in the turn of the third millennium, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism even issued a multi-language pamphlet on the religious destinations of the Holy Family, Jayyid recalled. Religious tourism grew.
Rumors about an apparition of the Virgin Mary in the sky have been circulating around Minia in Egypt. One apparently took place during a Christian feast. Another such rumor spread again a few months ago during the Virgin’s Festival at the Monastery of al-Tayr Mountain in Samalut, northern village of al-Minia. Nada Muhamad Ali of Sawt al-Umma said some people attending the festival claimed they have seen the Virgin surrounded by white doves over the mount.Over two million Christians, sometimes including Muslims, gather annually at the mountaintop church in the al-Tayr, a village north of Minya, Upper Egypt. People celebrate the annual moulid of the Holy Virgin, a popular celebration of a saint’s day or birthday and tradition going back to the ancient Egyptians, and involves a religious ceremony, festival song and dance, buying and selling, and the popular fastfood stalls, said Teresa Kamal of Al Watani International. The religious moulid itself promised no apparition, but was packed nevertheless.Hani Aziz, one of the festival’s visitors, said he has seen the image of Mary in the skies surrounded by white doves the night the fire broke out. But Coptic Christian thinker Jamal Asad said the legend of the apparition during the festival was just made-up. Ali said Asad confirmed it was merely a story spread by some folks in order to bring in more visitors and potential customers to the area. Rumors may have also been started to show that Egypt’s Christians can have miracles while Muslims cannot, reported Ali.Whether just hearsay or real images, Marian phenomenon isn’t happening, however, for the first time in the land of the pharaohs.Back in 2000, southern Egypt made headlines when church officials confirmed thousands of Christians have reported sightings of Mary in Assiut. Father Mina Hanna, secretary of the Assiut’s Council of Churches reported people slept on the streets around the Church of St. Mark to see the apparitions. They stood on rooftops for a glimpse.Christians in Assiut said the first apparition came two-and-a-half weeks in a row but that there have since been several more. Images of the Virgin Mary with outstretched hands and a light emanating from them, accompanied a smell of incense and large numbers of pigeons, dazzled by-standers, said officials. Birds seem to be a common element of the sightings.Assiut is believed to be one spot the "Holy Family" visited for six months and 10 days after fleeing from Bethlehem in Palestine onwards to Egypt. The site is marked by the Church of the Holy Virgin, built in March 1960. A monastery in the area is the Holy Virgin Monastery on the western mountain of Assiut about 10 km southwest of the city. More than 100 meters above the Nile Valley plain, inside the mountain is a cave that dates back to 2500 BC apparently used by the Holy Family on their return journey to Bethlehem. A monastery was built close to this cave. Outside the cave is another rock-cut church of the Virgin and the Archangel Michael. Two churches are carved between rock layers projecting from the mountain, some 170 meters above the ground; giving it the name Hanging Monastery.If apparitions caused migration and increased visitations, it is fascinating to note how one leader used it to his own advantage. President Nasser spared no time in cashing in himself. During his presidency, the church and the government enjoyed a good relationship, especially since Nasser’s policies were in favor of secularization. He was quite capable of using religion for his own good, as he cast the Virgin’s apparition in 1968 in a political light to cheer up his people, presenting the event as a sign of heavenly support for his very own policies, said Wael Abdul Fattah of Sawt al-Umma.Apparitions may have blended well with the tourism program highlighting the path of the "Holy Family" in Egypt, which includes 25 religious destinations. Member of the Association for the Revival of the Egyptian National Heritage or NEHRA Samir Mitri Jayyid, once said the journey of the Holy Family can serve as a major tourist attraction in Egypt. True to then tourism minister Mamdouh Beltagui’s words, in the turn of the third millennium, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism even issued a multi-language pamphlet on the religious destinations of the Holy Family, Jayyid recalled. Religious tourism grew.
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