[...]... the sea, in the regions of Zebulw1 and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'The bnd of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who sat in darkness saw a great light and upon d10se who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.'" (Matt 4: 13-16) 1112 SacredPlacesofthe World. .. of the World' , always sleep with their heads toward Agung The mystical Balinese believe the gods raised the mountain as advantage point to view the unceasing pageant of life below To them, it is a central, heavenly point of reference, the geographical and religious centre of the world With an elevation of 3,014 meters, the foot of the mountain stretches northeast right to the sea To the southeast its... plain, the ruins of Bagan are unhidden There being no trees to obstruct the view, one may gaze over forty square miles of countryside, upon literally thousands of temples In the early morning, from 1122 SaaedPlacesofthe World II Sulamani Temple, or in the late afternoon, from Gawdawpalin Temple, the view is among the very finest the world has to offer While the kingdoms of Bagan date back to the early... the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church The traditional midnight mass celebrated on Christmas Eve is held in St Catherine's, the Roman Catholic Church next door to the Church of the Nativity This is also the site of several chapels with their own historic and religious significance 3 CAPERNAUM, TltE CiTY of JESUS The city of Capernaum was built on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, about... sites are notable for their expanse of sacred geography and the number and size of their individual temples For many visitors Bagan is the more extraordinary of the two cities and this because of the view The ruins of the more than one hundred Angkor temples stand alone and isolated in thick jungles and only from the top of the tallest temples it is not possible to see others in the distance Sprawling... front of the Basilica is the great Piazza San Pietro (Saint Peter's Square) The other major edifice is the Palace of the Vatican, also known as the Papal Palace It is a complex of buildings that contains more than 1,000 rooms and hO'lses the papal apartments, the government offices of the Roman Catholic Church, several chapels and museums and a library The most famous portions of the palace are the Sistine... pillars with pictures of the apostles on them The names are written in Greek and Latin and many visitors have carved their own signatures over the centuries The floor of the nave has a hole that allows you to see what remains of the Byzantine mosaics that covered the original church floor The Altar of the Nativity sits below a silver and.gold chandelier Stairways on either side of the main altar lead... harmony with the way of nature While not speaking direcdy of Hardwar or Rishikesh, the following passage from the Anusasana Parva Mahabharata (a classic text of Hinduism) well expresses their magical atrnosphere:Certain areas on earth are more sacred than others, some on account of their situation, others because of their sparkling waters, and others because of the association or habitation of saindy... request the inspiration of Brahma and Saraswati According to the author's theory that shrine myths are often metaphorical expressions of the particular power of a pilgrimage place, the lake, hill and area of Pushkar have a spirit or presence that awakens and stimulates the human capacity of creativity 14 AlLdiAbAd, U.P The city of Allahabad is 135km west ofVaranasi at the confluence of two of India's... meditate by the peaceful lake This was Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh religion Mtcr the passing away of Guru Nanak, his disciples continued to frequcnt dle site; over the centuries it became dle primary sacred shrine of the Sikhs The lake was enlarged and structurally contained during the leadership of the fourth Sikh Guru (Ram Dass, 1574-1581) and during the leadership of the fifth . to the most holy places of the world. Pictures of almost all the places has been provided so that you not only read about them but also see them and imagine the beauty of the. century by the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine. Helena also was the person responsible for the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The present. of the most renowned artists and architects of the Italian Renaissance were commis- sioned by popes to work on the Vatican's buildings. The most 1114 Sacred Places of the World