The Jabal al-Tair area, east of the Nile in the center of Samalut, north of Minya, is one of the areas on the Holy Family’s journey during their visit to Egypt, where they hid for three days. The area includes a cave in which the Holy Family stayed: Jesus Christ, his mother, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph the Carpenter, for two nights and 3 days. During his escape from the oppression of King Herod.

Jabal al-Tair contains one of the most important monasteries in Egypt, which is the Monastery of the Virgin or Jabal al-Tair. The name Jabal al-Tair is due to the gathering of large numbers of hawksbills at the top of the monastery during its journey to the continent of Europe, so it was called the Monastery of Jabal al-Tair.

The Monastery of the Virgin is located in Jabal al-Tair at an altitude of 100 meters. It has stairs carved into the mountain. The church was built during the reign of Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, in the year 328 AD. It is completely carved into the rock, and inside it is the cave in which the Virgin Mary hid in the mountain.

There are five archaeological areas inside the “Jabal al-Tair Monastery” church: the “cave,” the archaeological “baptistery,” which is carved into one of the church’s columns and dates back to the fourth century AD, the “archaeological cenotaph” in the nave of the church, which is a cavity used by the church, and the “stand.” Icons: There is also the “Icon of the Virgin Mary”, the icon of Saint Demiana and the Forty Virgins, and the icon of the great Saint George. These icons date back to the year 1554 for the martyrs.

Thousands of citizens flock from the governorates and therefore it has become a world heritage area.