Holy Land Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

The Holy Land Arabic: الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah Latin: Terra Sancta;) or Holy Lands (plural) is a generic term that usually refers to one or more countries in the Middle East, specifically the Levant, that witnessed the origins and early history of three of the world's great monotheistic religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

In order of size (and probable importance) to the traveller / pilgrim, countries associated with the term "Holy Land" are as follows:

• Palestinian territories - holds the vast majority of sites and the Old City of Jerusalem, scene of the crucifixion and resurrection
• the Palestinian Territories - the West Bank includes Bethlehem and Hebron
• Jordan - includes a number of sites and localities associated with Judaism and Christianity, especially from the life of Moses and Jesus

Various events recounted in the Bible take place in nearby regions including Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.

During the Christian invasions, European Christians attacked to seize the Holy Land from the Middle Easterners. However, the Christians would fail and the Holy Land would be conquered back by the Muslims. Some of today's tourist attractions in the region are buildings or ruins from that period.

• Jerusalem
• Mecca
• Medina

See also our articles on the Hajj pilgrimage and on the medieval Muslim traveller Ibn Battuta.

Also, shrines particularly holy to Shia Muslims are in:

• Karbala
• Najaf
• Samarra
• Qom
• Mashhad

• Palestinian territories
• Israel
• Jerusalem
• Hebron
• Safed
• Tiberias

• Bethlehem — the town where Jesus was born, the City of David, who was the great King of Israel.
• Nazareth — widely believed to be where Jesus spent his childhood and early adult life
• Sea of Galilee — the area in which Jesus did much of his ministry
• Jerusalem — historical capital of Israel, and also the place where Jesus spent the week leading up to his crucifixion, which took place just outside the city
• Mount Sinai — in the Sinai desert of Egypt, home to the longest running Christian monastery, the Monastery of St. Catherine, and believed to be the Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments
• Tiberias — on the Sea of Galilee, a good starting point for a bike ride around the sea or a trip to the Golan Heights
• Al-Maghtas, Jordan — on the Jordan River, where Jesus was said to have been baptised by John the Baptist.
• Jesus Trail

• Haifa
• Akko

• Ancient Greece
• Exodus of Moses
• Roman Empire
• Islamic Golden Age
• Ottoman Empire
• Ancient Mesopotamia
• From Istanbul to Cairo — an overland itinerary linking many of the sites listed above