In Matariya, Mary’s Tree is associated with a Christian tradition that places the Holy Family’s rest at this site during their journey through Egypt. The age of that tradition should not be confused with the age of the surviving trunk: accounts record an older tree falling in 1656 and branches being replanted, followed by generations of care.
The tree and its setting offer a more intimate scale than a large church. Attention centres on the relationship between a religious narrative and a physical place, while distinguishing inherited tradition from the documented history of successive trees.
