Chasing Jesus

The Bible contains but a few verses about the years the Holy Family spent in Egypt - their flight from Hered's death sentence, the weary journey, and their return to Israel after Herod died. But what exactly happened to Jesus and His parents in this ancient land of myth and magic? How did the sojourn in Egypt change Jesus' life and influence His teachings? in search of answers, bestselling author Paul Perry set out to follow the Holy Family's mysterious journey himself. in this fascination book, Perry tells the story of his own amazing trek into Egypt, and the deeper story of the miracles and marvels he uncovered along the way. With the help of the Egyptian Christian Pope and the narratives of the apocrypha, Perry was able to draw a rough map of the Holy Family's route through Egypt, from their entrance into the country across the burning sands of the Sinai Desert to their zigzagging path down to the Nile. With devout guides and temperamental transportation, he ventured to find the places where Jesus had slept, suffered, performed miracles, and engaged in innocent acts of mischief. Near Bubastis, he came upon and enormous filed of fallen idols that - legend says - the infant Jesus had toppled and broken. At Belbeis, Perry almost started a riot when he questioned an Egyptian girl about the site of a tress that Jesus and Mary had rested under. On the wall of a hermit cave in Abu Hinnis, he found fourth-century paintings of Jesus coming to Egypt. Near the spot where an angel was said to have appeared to Joseph, Perry photographed an apparition of light, a photo that has now been declared a "spiritual message from the Lord" by an Egyptian bishop. Part travel adventure, part spiritual journey, part historical detective story, Chasing Jesus recounts a modern-day pilgrimage into an ancient and often baffling land. In the teeming back streets of Cairo, in the shrines thronged by worshipers and desert wastes haunted by saints, Perry turned up shards of the past, tales passed down through countless generations, and ghostly emanations of antiquity. This extraordinary book unfolds a chapter in the life of Jesus that has been shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding for two thousand years. Combining ancient texts, interviews with local experts, and his own startling encounters with contemporary Egypt, Perry has fashioned a book of wonder and revelations. PAUL PERRY has written books on a variety of topics, from near-death experiences to treasure hunting adventures. He is co-author of four bestseller: Saved by the Light, Closer to the Light, Transformed by the Light and Evidence of the Afterlife. He is a Grand Cross Knight in Portugal and is the official filmmaker for the Portuguese Royal Family. See more on his website: www.paulperryproductions.com