Early last Thursday, and amid the famed annual celebrations of Mulid al-Adra in
Saving the day
Father Banoub, deputy to the archbishop of Assiut, told Watani that flames were seen at 8:00am erupting from the wood located at the foot of the mountain. “We called the Civil Defence and the police. The fire trucks only came one hour later, and carried no water.” he said, “It was the guests who had come to the mulid who effectively began to put out the fire until fire fighters of the Armed Forces arrived and distinguished the fire. An investigation is currently ongoing.”
Father Yacoub Soliman of Assiut Bishopric said that the fire, which lasted for three hours, sprouted in five separate unconnected spots in the wood, implying that it may not have been a matter of fate. It might have turned into a full-blown disaster had the flames reached the parking area which at that time was hosting some 170 vehicles. However, the supervisors of the celebrations and the guests joined efforts to move all the cars away, and thus saved the day. Fr Yacoub criticised the security apparatus and blamed it for not refusing to license the erection of a fencing wall around the woodland, which belongs to Assiut bishopric, for protection.
Twelve people, nine firefighters and three guests suffered slightly from smoke inhalation and have been treated.
The land
Last month Assiut governor Nabil al-Ezabi approved the allocation of 13 feddans of land in the vicinity of the cave site to the bishopric, as a precinct to the historical site. He had earlier decided to sell the land to investors, even though Assiut bishopric had been trying, unsuccessfully, to purchase it for the asking price of the governorate for over 25 years in order to preserve the historical and cultural character of the site. The governor’s decision to sell to investors prompted Assiut archbishop Anba Mikhail to announce the closure of the site, in protest. However, the governor backtracked on his decision and the land was handed to the bishopric.
