The Journey of the Holy Family from Sinai to Delta

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It was at the time when Gaius Turranius (7- 4 BC) (a Roman Prefect of Egypt) that the Holy Family crossed the narrow isthmus at El-Qantara , today a small village along the Suez Canal . It was over this isthmus (which separates Lake Manzala from Lake Ballah) that the ancient caravan-route from Judea to Egypt passed . This route had , centuries before , been used by Abraham and Jacob and his sons . In the steps of the patriarchs , the Holy Family entered the province of Goshen .
The first town they visited in the Delta was Bubastis (Tell Basta) , two kilometers south of Zagazig . There , however , they were not well received and , disappointed by their reception , they went for a day's journey further southwards reaching the towns of Bilbais , alongside the modern Ismailiya Canal . Today , there is only one Coptic Church at Bilbais , the Church of Saint George , which is situated in the north-eastern part of the town , about one kilometer from the main road . The site , which commemorates the visit of the Holy Family to Bilbais , is the Uthman Ibn El-Haris El-Ansari Mosque , in the centre of the town .
The Holy Family continued northwards along the Nile Delta till they reached the town of Sebennytos (Samannud) , which is situated along the Damietta branch of the Nile . A local tradition in Samannud relates that the present Church of Apa Nub was built on the ruins of an ancient church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin , which , in turn , was built on the site where the Holy Family stayed .
Having crossed the Damietta branch of the Nile , the Holy Family traveled westwards . On the way , Jesus put His foot upon a stone , and the mark of the sole of His foot remained upon the stone , and the place became known as Bikha Isous , that is to say the footprint of Jesus . Bikha Isous might be the town of Sakha , about two kilometers south of Kafr El-Shaikh .
After Bikha Isous , the Holy Family traveled westwards and crossed the Rosetta branch of the Nile . Continuing their journey , they saw , from a far , the Desert of Scetis (the Wadi an-Natrun) , and Jesus blessed it . The town which is nearest to the Desert of Scetis is Terenouti (at-Tarrana) , actually about 40 kilometers from the Monastery of St . Macarius .
Continuing southward , the Holy Family reached the City of On , the Biblical BethShemesh (Heliopolis) , near Matariyah , the modern suburb of Cairo .
From the City of On , the Holy Family went to a locality , where the Church of the Blessed Virgin in the Haret Zuwayla of Cairo now stands . It is situated in the north-eastern district of Cairo . Annexed to the Church is a convent of nuns . The nuns relate the tradition that , when the Holy Family rested there , Jesus blessed the water of the well and the Blessed Virgin drank from it . This well is situated in the floor , before the southern sanctuary of the lower church , and the water is still used for healing the sick .
Continuing southwards , the Holy Family passed the Fortress of Babylon , which commanded the route to Upper Egypt and where they halted on their return to Palestine .