Holy place


A holy place is a place that people consider holy and/or a religion considers to be of special religious significance. A holy place may be visited by visitors, known as pilgrims.

Baha'i

Located in Bahji near Acre, Israel, the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh is the most holy place for Bahá'ís and their Qiblih, or direction of prayer. It contains the remains of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith and is near the spot where he died in the Mansion of Bahjí. The second holiest site is the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa.
In Iran, the Baha'is possessed several important holy sites, including the House of the Bab in Shiraz; the House of Baha' Allah's father in Tehran; the shrine and grave of Quddus. Since the Revolution, all these places have been demolished, and a mosque has been built on the site of the Bab's house.

Buddhism

is said to have identified four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for Buddhists, saying that they would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency. These are:
In the later commentarial tradition, four more sites were added to make Eight Great Places, places where a miraculous event is reported to have occurred:
There are various other locations in India and Nepal associated with the Buddha, and there are holy sites located throughout Asia for each Buddhist tradition, for instance in Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Thailand. Lhasa in Tibet contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang temple and Norbulingka palaces.

Christianity

In Christianity, the holy places are significant because they are the place of birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the Saviour or Messiah to Christianity.
During the Crusades, Christian pilgrims often sought out the holy places in the Outremer, especially early in the 12th century immediately after Jerusalem was captured. The holy places included sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as:
Holy places of Confucianism include Temple of Confucius, Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu, Shandong Province of China.

Druidism

is a site of religious significance in Neo-Druidism. Druids perform pilgrimage there, The first modern Druids to make ceremonies at this site is the Ancient Order of Druids.

Hinduism

The seven sacred ancient holy towns are Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Dvārakā, and Ujjain.
The Holy Dhamas
The Four Maha Kumbha Mela sites
, Varanasi attracts millions of Hindu pilgrims every year.|alt=Buildings on the bank of the River Ganges in Varanasi
Vaishnavas
is revered as the Holy abode of Lord Shiva.
Shaivites
Kaumaram
Tirth Kshetra
The three holiest sites in Islam are the Masjid al-Haram, or Grand Mosque, ; the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, or Prophet's Mosque, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Every year millions of Muslims from all over the world visit Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi to perform Hajj.
Muslims are also required, if able, to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's life:
The next two holiest sites especially for Shia Islam are the Imam Ali Mosque and the Imam Husayn shrine

Judaism

In Jewish tradition, the Temple Mount is regarded as the place where God chose the Divine Presence to rest. Jewish tradition regards the Mount, or the Foundation Stone, as the location of a number of important events mentioned in the Bible, including the location from which the world expanded into its present form, Abraham's binding of Isaac, Jacob's dream, the threshing floor which King David purchased from Araunah the Jebusite, and the location of the two Jewish Temples. Jewish texts record that the Mount will be the site of the Third Temple, which will be rebuilt with the coming of the messiah.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and is the place to which Jews turn during prayer. Due to its extreme sanctity, many Jews will not walk on the Mount itself, to avoid unintentionally entering the area where the Holy of Holies stood. The Temple is mentioned extensively in Orthodox services. Conservative Judaism mentions the Temple and its restoration, but not its sacrifices. The destruction of the Temple is mourned on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av, and is remembered on a number of occasions such as in the breaking of a glass at the end of a wedding ceremony. Due to religious restrictions on entering the most sacred areas of the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, a retaining wall of the Temple Mount and remnant of the Second Temple structure, is considered by some rabbinical authorities the holiest accessible site for Jews to pray.
Jerusalem itself is also the holiest city in Judaism, and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE. The Four Holy Cities in Jewish tradition are the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed: The Jewish Encyclopedia in 1906 noted: "Since the sixteenth century the Holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed."

Sikhism

The Panj Takht are the five gurudwaras which are revered as the seats of power in Sikhism. They are all located in India - the Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab; the Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab; the Damdama Sahib in Bhatinda, Punjab; the Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Patna, Bihar and the Hazur Sahib Nanded in Nanded, Maharashtra.
Sri Harmandir Sahib, also known as Sri Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple,, is named after Hari the temple of God. The Sikhs all over the world, daily wish to pay visit to Sri Amritsar and to pay obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib in their Ardas.
Guru Arjan's father Guru Ram Das founded the town named after him "Ramdaspur", around a large man-made water pool called "Ramdas Sarovar". Guru Arjan continued the infrastructure building effort of his father. The town expanded during the time of Guru Arjan, financed by donations and constructed by voluntary work. The pool area grew into a temple complex with the gurdwara Harmandir Sahib near the pool. Guru Arjan installed the scripture of Sikhism inside the new temple in 1604. The city that emerged is now known as Amritsar, and is the holiest pilgrimage site in Sikhism.

Taoism

Four sacred mountains of Taoism: