According to tradition, the Holy Family started from northern Sinai, went to the town of al-ʿArīsh, and eventually travelled south into Egypt. Among all the locations they visited outside Jerusalem, Dayr al-Muḥarraq is remembered as the place where they stayed the longest. Instead, they were able to remain in peace, nourished and sustained by a well that was discovered inside the church, which provided the water the Holy Family needed. It was also here that an angel appeared to the Holy Family as a divine messenger who revealed the moment when they would finally be able to return to Jerusalem. Throughout their three and a half years of travel across Egypt, the Holy Family had endured much uncertainty.