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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 May 2000 Issue No. 480 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 May 2000 Issue No. 480
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters More than a tourist attraction
By Walid HelalBy now everyone has heard about the Ministry of Tourism's hyped-up opening of a tour following in the footsteps of the Holy Family's flight through Egypt. All aggrandising aside, the holy route is a gift to Egypt's tourist product and we should be sure not to squander an opportunity to build on it.
The Holy Family came from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape Herod and remained for roughly four years. Various sites associated with the visit are being restored in Upper and Lower Egypt and efforts have been made to improve their accessibility. It is timely, therefore, to consider some alternate attractions to enhance international awareness and widespread participation.
An opera immediately comes to mind. What more colourful and dramatic way to relate the journey from Palestine than through music? A performance telling the story of the flight would familiarise audiences with towns where the Holy Family sought refuge -- at times welcomed and sometimes driven away -- and the many places where miracles were performed. With Egypt's rich resources in local talent and gifted singers and dancers to perform, a work of this kind could be commissioned and developed by one of our more well-known composers.
Spacious areas at sites associated with the biblical story -- Deir Al-Muharraq in Upper Egypt, for example, and Al-Arish in northern Sinai -- would provide natural and appropriate settings for performances. I suggest that Al-Ahram invite the famous singer Fayrouz, for example, who has a repertoire of songs about the life of Jesus, to give performances at these places.
Many of the places associated with the visit overlook the Nile or are within easy reach of its banks; the Church of the Holy Virgin in Maadi, or Al-Bahnasa and Gebel Al-Tair in Upper Egypt, for example. An Al-Bahnasa rowing competition could not fail to draw world attention to the area through the international media and would, at the same time, encourage visitors to tour sites associated with the flight.
Likewise, an Al-Arish to Assiut motor rally would be an excellent idea. Such an event would draw participants and spectators from the corners of the world, and by promoting the fact that it passes through sites associated with the flight into Egypt, the resulting publicity would inevitably draw curious travellers who might not have otherwise taken part in a "holy pilgrimage." The event could be orchestrated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and would provide an opportunity for advertising and sponsorship.
The need for such events to help draw attention to sites associated with the flight is vital, as many of the areas, apart from the restored churches and monasteries, have little to commend them. Access to many sites, hitherto completely off the beaten track, have been improved, but a campaign should be mounted by competent ministries and local government authorities to clean up areas where rubble and refuse have accumulated over the centuries.
Areas around the sites need to be given a facelift. Al-Bahnasa, for example, was no more than a mass of ruins when archaeologists at the turn of the 20th century found it to contain a wealth of literary material. Today, the area has succumbed to urban development and is hardly a tourist attraction. Little remains of the ancient monuments of Qusiya; and even sites like the ancient city of Bubastis, on the outskirts of Zagazig, which has a well named after Jesus and ruins of the Pharaonic temple of Bastet, are of little interest to tourists who have come for the express purpose of a spiritual experience -- a pilgrimage not a cultural tour.
The people who will be most interested in religious tourism are not necessarily wealthy. Therefore, the government could take the initiative of building youth hostels at Al-Arish, Al-Farama, Tel Basta, Samanud, Sakha, Minya and Assiut, even as private capital is sought to build motels and resorts with a range of sports activities -- golf, swimming, polo etc., possibly on a time share basis.
Something that is generally overlooked, but extremely important for foreign travellers, is the need to identify the names of streets, squares and alleys in various towns, in English and Arabic. The help of Media Group (the Arab Media Centre) could be solicited for this as well as for advertising and publicity at the various sites.
Landscaping and a bit of paint are badly needed in many of the smaller towns. The edge of pavements painted white and graceful date palms and sycamore trees would go far to enhance the environment. Also, local communities would doubtless be ready to lend a hand if they understood that their towns and villages are of historical and cultural importance and that tourists would be making their way there along the route of the Holy Family.
Finally, murals go a long way for adorning derelict buildings and several names spring to mind: Abdel-Salam Eid, Mohamed Shaker, Gaber Hegazy, Mohamed Salem and Ahmed Setouhi, in addition to hundreds of graduates of fine and applied arts from various institutes.
The route of the Holy Family in Egypt was once a path trodden by many early Christian pilgrims. Today it could be resuscitated and given new prominence. More than just a tourist attraction, it is another tourist product altogether and could be a great source of national pride in which the efforts of many, all over the country, could be brought to bear. Let us make use of local talent. Let us beautify our towns. Let us put Egypt squarely on the tourist map not only because of its heritage, but for the place it is today.
