Every August, tens of thousands of Egypt’s Coptic Christians and Egyptian Muslims take buses and trains to the Virgin Mary Monastery in Assiut. This year, Muslims were banned from attending the event by the Egyptian authorities. The monastery is believed to have been visited by the Holy family when they fled Israel out of fear of persecution by King Herod.
Devotion to Mary in Assiut, Egypt
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Copts cheer deacons while they walk on the mountain as a religious ritual for the event in Assiut, Egypt, August 20, 2017. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
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The monastery pastor cheer copts who came to attend the event in Virgin Mary monastery in Dronka Mountain in Assiut, Egypt, August 20, 2017. (H. Elrasam/VOA)