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In Photos: Egypt's Christians Travel to Annual Celebration of Virgin Mary

Despite this year's record temperatures and inflation, tens of thousands of mostly Coptic Christian worshippers are commemorating what some believe was time spent by the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus in the mountains near the Egyptian city of Asyut. For VOA, photojournalist Hamada Elrasam captures their annual pilgrimage.

(Image captions by Elle Kurancid)

The Virgin Mary Monastery complex is home to a new nine-meter-tall bronze statue of the holy mother with open arms.
1 The Virgin Mary Monastery complex is home to a new nine-meter-tall bronze statue of the holy mother with open arms.
Christian worshippers and their fellow Muslim pilgrims gather inside the Virgin Mary Monastery, an ancient mountain cave turned church, where they believe the persecuted holy family once took refuge.
2 Christian worshippers and their fellow Muslim pilgrims gather inside the Virgin Mary Monastery, an ancient mountain cave turned church, where they believe the persecuted holy family once took refuge.
The Virgin Mary Monastery’s volunteer-run shops offer low-cost food items and mineral water to this season’s budget-crunched and heat-exhausted visitors
3 The Virgin Mary Monastery’s volunteer-run shops offer low-cost food items and mineral water to this season’s budget-crunched and heat-exhausted visitors
These volunteer butchers serve meat, subsidized by the monastery, to pilgrims amid the nationwide cost-of-living crisis. “Our turnout is very low this year,” their manager says, “due to the doubled and tripled livestock prices.”
4 These volunteer butchers serve meat, subsidized by the monastery, to pilgrims amid the nationwide cost-of-living crisis. “Our turnout is very low this year,” their manager says, “due to the doubled and tripled livestock prices.”

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