Part 1

In Pilgrimages: Journeys of Self-Discovery Part 1, you will learn about the first three spiritual and religious locations. Many have questions they need answered to confirm their beliefs, while others simply want to know and understand themselves better. A true enlightenment…

What is a pilgrimage?

For thousands of years, people have embarked on pilgrimages, great moral or spiritual journeys to significant locations. Destinations are mostly historically, culturally or religiously valuable, or all three. Pilgrims visit these sites to benefit spiritually in some way.

Many have questions they need answered to confirm their beliefs, while others simply want to know and understand themselves better. Many pilgrims have reached their destinations on foot. Travel is much easier now with modern transport, but pilgrimage sites still hold immense importance in many people’s lives.

Jerusalem

Location: Israel

Jerusalem is not only one of the oldest cities in the world, it’s also an important holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jews see Jerusalem as the Biblical Zion, City of David, site of Solomon’s Temple and the capital of the Israelite nation. Mount Zion is the traditional resting place of King David. There were three major annual mass pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem in ancient times: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot.

Today, only the Western (or ‘Wailing’) Wall of the Temple stands. Thousands of Jewish pilgrims from all over the world visit the Wall to offer prayer during the historic and agricultural pilgrimage festivals.

Christians visit Jerusalem because it’s the site of Jesus’ Last Supper, Crucifixion and Resurrection. Many Christians follow the path Jesus walked before the Crucifixion. Another popular Christian pilgrimage site in Jerusalem is Ein Karem, the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist.

Jerusalem is one of three most revered sites in Islam. For Muslims, The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount is where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The Foundation Stone at the centre is significant to both Muslims and Jews as the site where Abraham was lead to sacrifice his son.

Mecca

Location: Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Mecca is the holiest city in Islam. It’s the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the site of his first revelation of the Qur’an. Every able adult Muslim is required to pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam.

About 3 million Muslims visit Mecca every year during the Hajj (pilgrimage) period in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. About 15 million Muslims visit the city each year. Non-Muslims are not allowed in the city.

The pilgrimage consists of a sequence of rituals based on the Prophet Muhammed. These rituals are performed for five days and include walking around the Ka’aba (a square building in the middle of Al-Masjid al-Haram, Islam’s most sacred mosque) seven times in a counter-clockwise direction, praying, and travelling between the two hills (Safa and Marwah) which Hagar ran between to find water for her son, Ishmael. Pilgrims also throw 49 stones collected in Muzdalifa at three pillars, the Jamaraat. The ritual symbolises ‘stoning the devil’.

Bodh Gaya

Location: Mahabodhi Temple Bihar, India

Buddhists revere a large fig tree (said to be a descendant of the original tree) as one of their holiest sites. This is where Buddha meditated for seven days and where he reached enlightenment! Nowadays believers call it the ‘mythical World Tree’ where they too can reach enlightenment.

Buddha identified Bodh Gaya as the most important of four sites worthy of pilgrimage. The other sites include Lumbini (Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal), Sarnath (site of his first teaching in India), and Kusinagar (place of death in India).

Do you want to know more about the famous Bodhi tree? Check out this site!

Read Pilgrimages: Journeys of Self-Discovery Part 2 here!