Holy Family in virtual reality - The Manila Times

Of each the countries successful the world, the Lord Jesus chose Egypt to fly to from the look of Herod the King who wished to termination Him erstwhile yet a Child. The Gospel of Matthew relates successful its 2nd section however Herod the King sought to termination the Child Jesus, truthful the angel of the Lord commanded St. Joseph to "take the young Child and His parent and fly into Egypt and enactment determination until I bring you word." When Herod died, St. Joseph was commanded to instrumentality the household backmost to the historical onshore of Israel.

Pope Tawadros 2nd launching Blessed Egypt website with Nasser Sobhy, writer astatine Watani and a lensman (left) and Dina Sidhom, Managing Editor of Watani’s website Wataninet (right) PHOTOS COURTESY OF WATANINET.COM

Included are the spectacular photographic collections with mentation successful 7 languages – Arabic, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Russian.

Pilgrimage sites

Tradition has it that the Holy Family entered Egypt done its northeast border, travelled southwest into the Nile Delta, and from what is contiguous time Cairo boarded a vessel up the Nile till what is contiguous Assiut, 375km southbound of Cairo. There they stayed for the bigger portion of their sojourn successful Egypt till they turned backmost home, taking a somewhat antithetic instrumentality route

The full travel supposedly took immoderate three-and-a-half years, extended implicit 3,500km, and included 31 sites, 8 caves oregon grottos, 18 h2o springs oregon wells, and 13 trees. Today, each spot traversed by the Holy Family boasts immoderate church, monastery oregon convent that are pilgrimage destinations for Egyptians, not lone Copts but sometimes Muslims arsenic well.

Pope Tawadros 2nd trying retired the stunning virtual world of the Holy Family trail.

The outset of the 2nd millennium saw the Egyptian authorities admit the way of the Holy Family successful Egypt arsenic a imaginable destination for spiritual tourism. With this successful sight, the government, joined by NGOs that focused connected Egyptian oregon Coptic heritage, undertook a task to upgrade the sites connected the way to accommodate pilgrims and tourists. The project, nevertheless stalled for astir 2 decades that witnessed the unrest and aftermath of what became known arsenic the Arab Spring, and aboriginal the Covid-19 pandemic years, but picked up successful caller years.

Nothing wrong the churches oregon past vestiges was changed, isolated from delicate renovation, but roads starring to them were paved and lined with trees oregon palms, signposts installed, parking places built and, successful general, immoderate needed infrastructure was provided. Guest accommodation and visitant centers were near to section communities to provide, successful anticipation that the expected tourer enactment would bring astir prosperity. So far, the Ministry has touristically developed 5 sites connected the Holy Family trail: astatine Samannoud, Sakha, Tell Basta, Wadi al- Natroun, and Gabal al-Teir.

Virtual world trip

The astir caller effort astatine promoting the Holy Family way is simply a stunning virtual world website launched connected November 20 by Pope Tawadros 2nd.

Available astatine https://map.blessedegypt.com/ar/map, the website presents an progressive representation of Egypt that includes the sites traversed by the Holy Family. Clicking each of the sites connected the representation takes the visitant connected a virtual travel done it, with elaborate mentation of its features. Video footage of each tract is included, arsenic good arsenic spectacular photographic collections, with mentation successful 7 languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Russian.

The website was acceptable up by the Egyptian NGO Blessed Egypt Foundation for Development and Heritage Revival which aims to enactment the task to revive the Trail of the Holy Family successful Egypt.

Especially appealing

Pope Tawadros expressed his admiration of Blessed Egypt website, and highly praised the usage of modern exertion to service the intent of highlighting the Holy Family's travel successful Egypt. This technology, helium said, is particularly appealing to young people, and would service to amended them connected Egyptian practice which, successful that case, progressive the captious spiritual and humanities lawsuit of the Holy Family's formation into Egypt. He highly commended the meticulousness and precision of the details cited successful 7 languages.

The Pope said that the Holy Family's way successful Egypt offers unsocial spiritual blessing, and a peculiar acquisition connected the touristic, historical, nationalist and economical levels.

Developing section communities

Accompanying Pope Tawadros during the launching ceremonial were those successful complaint of Blessed Egypt unneurotic with those who worked connected the website development.

Blessed Egypt's caput of the committee of trustees, Nasser Sobhy who is simply a writer astatine Watani and a talented photographer, spoke of the organizations' aims arsenic being focused connected 2 aspects. First, Sobhy said, the NGO aims astatine supporting the authorities and Church task of reviving the Trail of the Holy Family successful Egypt, by publicizing it done the newly-launched, comprehensive, charismatic seven-language VR website.

Second, helium explained, Blessed Egypt aims to lend to efforts for the improvement of section communities on the way of the Holy Family's travel into Egypt. He said that this would beryllium achieved done establishing section assemblage centers wherever members of the nationalist whitethorn larn oregon bid to make their skills astatine practice handcrafts that would widen their opportunities astatine gaining amended incomes. These assemblage centers, helium said, would besides service to foster consciousness of the economical payment of tourism to the section community, and hence trim the request for young radical to migrate to different countries.

"It is nary concealed that the Holy Family's travel to Egypt is unsocial successful that Egypt was the lone spot they visited extracurricular the humanities onshore of Israel. As such, its path, which stretches from Sinai successful the northbound to Assiut successful the south, stands to pull millions of tourists, fixed that it carries each the elements of meaningful spiritual tourism. Pope Tawadros said helium was particularly blessed with the section improvement extremity of Blessed Egypt, saying it would practically marque communities the guardians of that precious heritage," Sobhy said.

"Egyptians, Muslims and Christians alike, person large religion successful the blessings brought connected Egypt by the sojourn of the Holy Family to their land," the Pope said, connected the different hand, added.

Dream travel true

On her Facebook page, Dina Sidhom, managing exertion of Watani's website Wataninet wrote of the arduous travel that started wrong the walls of Watani successful the aboriginal the 2000s and reached its last signifier by launching the website. She recalled the years spent meticulously collecting precise information connected each tract of the Holy Family's travel successful Egypt, portion Sobhy toured these sites 1 by one, capturing breathtaking photographs and video footage.

Then came the quest for financing the project, which was severely hampered by the onset of the Arab Spring and the hard ensuing economical situation, followed by the Covid years. By that time, Sobhy decided the task should instrumentality a antithetic signifier for it to succeed. He spearheaded the founding of Blessed Egypt, and projected the VR website.

"With divine blessings, and ardent enactment from faithful friends who believed successful the project, and with our beloved Pope's progressive encouragement, the imagination has yet travel true."

Visit the progressive representation of Egypt that includes the sites traversed by the Holy Family astatine https://map.blessedegypt.com/ar/map.

Reference: https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/121027/Egypt-succeeds-in-registering-Holy-Family%E2%80%99s-Journey-on-Representative-List

https://en.wataninet.com/coptic-affairs-coptic-affairs/coptic-affairs/holy-family-in-virtual-reality/40309/