Egypt is considered one of the most famous tourist countries due to its civilization, history, and geographical location
Pharaonic civilization
Pharaonic civilization
It is one of the oldest civilizations, extending back to 7000 years BC, and if we talked about it in detail, it would not be enough
Egypt has many temples and monuments that bear witness to that historical era
Luxor - whose founding dates back to the era of the Fourth Dynasty (2575 BC) and became the capital of ancient Egypt in the era of the Eleventh Dynasty - is on the western mainland (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu Temple, Ramesseum Temple, Deir el-Medina, Deir el-Bahari, and Al-Malqta), which is The remains of the palace of Amenhotep III, and the statue of Memnon), and on the eastern bank it includes several cultural tourist attractions, the most prominent of which are (Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, Luxor Museum, and Mummification Museum).
The road linking Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple is distinguished by its privacy within the archaeological tourist areas that fascinate visitors. It is the “Road of Rams” in the heart of Luxor, which includes statues with a ram’s head and others with a human head, dating back to the 18th and 30th Dynasties.
There are many myths associated with the Nile, including that the Nile is a gift from the gods, and that its flood season begins with the appearance of the brightest star, and when it overflows it brings prosperity and fertility, and the gods control the river, and the god Khnum is the lord of water who brings prosperity and creates humans from the mud of the Nile River’s flood, and the god Hapi controls. On the flood of the Nile, which is dual-sexed and therefore capable of fertility, and the myth of parts of the body of the god Osiris cut off in the Nile “Feast of the Fulfillment of the Nile,” and the connection of the Nile flood and its receding with the killing and resurrection of Osiris, and the myth of the worship of the Nile animals (the crocodile god Sobek).
The ancient cave church
Its founding dates back to the first century AD (which is the date the cave was consecrated as a church). The Holy Family resided there for three months when they fled to Egypt, where there were many Jews in that region, which explains the Holy Family’s choice of this place, and at the end of the fourth century it was built over the cave. Another church was dedicated in honor of the martyrs Sergius and Wachs, known as Abu Sarja.
The cave is about three meters lower than the floor of the upper church. It is rectangular in shape, with an area of approximately (6 x 5 metres). The cave has two entrances with stairs, one of which is from the southern side, next to a well from which the Holy Family used to drink. It still exists and contains water at a depth of three meters, and the second entrance is from the northern side. It has a domed ceiling, and despite its small area, it consists of three courtyard aisles and two northern and southern wings separated by columns, four on the north, which contains a stone baptistery from the Apostolic era, and four columns on the south, in addition to a fifth column on this side, visible from the wall that was built in the fourth century.
It also has three arched cavities, one in the eastern wall and another in the southern. Each of these niches is a cubic block of white marble engraved with a cross, and the third cavity in the northern wall contains a piece of granite that has a relatively hollow surface 1 inch deep, with raised edges on all sides. It is said that The Virgin Mary was placing the child Jesus on him to sleep, and tradition states that those niches were altars, and this is what was also indicated by the British historian Alfred Joshua Butler (1850 - 1936) in his famous book “The Ancient Coptic Churches in Egypt.” The original floor of the cave was also discovered at the time of its construction. The Holy Family was covered with glass to be visible to visitors.