Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Khaled Al-Anani, and Governor of Minya, Major General Osama Al-Qadi, inspected a number of archaeological and touristic sites in Minya Governorate.
They visited the Church and Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Gabal al-Tayr, in the presence of Head of the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities Sector Gamal Mustafa, and head of the projects sector, Eng. Waad Abu El-Ela.
This visit comes within the framework of the tours undertaken by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities across the Egyptian governorates to inspect archaeological sites.
During this tour, they listened to a detailed explanation on the restoration project carried out by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in the church, and the monastery, in addition to the project of developing the area to raise the efficiency of tourism services there.
Al-Anani gave some recommendations on the restoration work to raise the efficiency of its tourism services, as this area is one of the stops of the Holy Family's journey.
Eng. Waad Abu El-Ela said that the restoration works of the monastery and the church began in 2018 after the approval of the Permanent Committee for Islamic and Coptic Monuments.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gamal Mustafa said that the Monastery of the Virgin Mary is located at the western side of Gabal al-Tayr village in Minya Governorate over the mountain, east of the Nile. Queen Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, built the ancient church inside the monastery in 328 AD, while the church was carved in the rock.
Noteworthy, the path of the journey of the Holy Family development project is a national project led by the tourism sector.
Contributed by Ali Abu Dashish
Follow the latest news on Google News
