Holy city
For the small town in the Santa Cruz Mountains, see Holy City, California. For the song, see The Holy City (song). For the BBC TV series, see Holby City.
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| Holy city of Mecca | |
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Holy city is a term applied to many cities, all of them central to the history or faith of specific religions. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religion and/or chambers of the religious leadership's offices) which constitutes a major destination of human traffic, or pilgrimage to the city, especially for major ceremonies and observances. A holy city is a symbolic city, representing attributes beyond its natural characteristics. Marketing experts have suggested that holy cities may be the oldest brands, and more specifically, place brands because they have value added via the perception of religious adherents.[1]
List
These cities include:
Africa
- Abydos (Ancient Egyptian religion)
- Heliopolis (Ancient Egyptian religion)
- Nkamba (Kimbanguism)
- Ife (Yoruba religion)
- Kairouan (Sufi Islam)
- Moulay Idriss (Islam)
- Zion City Moria (Zion Christian Church)
- Ewu (St. Benedict Monastery), (Assemblies of God Church), (Alu-Oshaeraen Shrine), (Alu-Azido Shrine), the spiritual headquarters of Esan religion.
- Touba, Senegal (Mouridism).
- Ouidah (West African Vodun)
Americas
- Tiwanaku (Ancient Andean religion, and now a religious centre of many ceremonies)
- Cuzco (Ancient Incan religion)
- Independence, Missouri - a Zion and future location of the New Jerusalem in the Latter Day Saint movement
- Charleston, South Carolina (Religious Diversity)
- Clearwater, Florida (Church of Scientology)
- Santa Fe, New Mexico (Roman Catholicism)
- Salt Lake City (Mormonism)
Europe
St Peter's Square, Vatican City, Rome.
- Rome (Roman Catholicism)
- Cologne (Medieval, Roman Catholicism)
- Venice (Roman Catholicism)
- Lisbon (Roman Catholicism)
- Constantinople/Istanbul (Medieval, Orthodox Christianity, and later Islam)
- Ohrid (Orthodox Christianity)
- Bolghar (Medieval, Islam)
- Santiago de Compostela (Roman Catholicism, Priscillianism)
- Caravaca de la Cruz (Roman Catholicism)
- Santo Toribio de Liébana (Roman Catholicism)
- Toledo (Medieval, Roman Catholicism and Islam)
- Córdoba (Medieval, Islam)
- Częstochowa (Roman Catholicism)
- Mtskheta (Georgian Orthodox Church)[2]
West Asia
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a holy city in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, sacred to the Bahá'í faith.
- Jerusalem (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
- Mount Sinai (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
- Hebron (Judaism, Islam)
- Bethlehem (Christianity)
- Karbala (Shi'a Islam)
- Haifa (Bahá'í)
- Akká (Bahá'í)
- Antioch (Christianity)
- Mashhad (Shi'a Islam)
- Mecca (Islam)
- Medina (Islam)
- Najaf (Shi'a Islam)
- Nippur (Ancient Mesopotamian religions)[3]
- Qom (Shi'a Islam)
- Safed (Judaism)
- Tarim (Sufi Islam)
- Tiberias (Judaism)
- Balkh (Zoroastrianism)
- Yazd (Zoroastrianism)
- Udvada (Zoroastrianism)
South Asia
Ganges River in Varanasi
- Katmandu (Hinduism-Buddhism-Sikhism)
- Mount Abu (Jainism)
- Ranakpur (Jainism)
- Barmer (Jainism)
- Jaipur (Jainsm)
- Falna (Jainism)
- Sri Amritsar (Sikhism)
- Anandpur Sahib (Sikhism)
- Goindwal Sahib (Sikhism)
- Nankana Sahib (Sikhism)
- Tarn Taran Sahib (Sikhism)
- Sultanpur Lodhi (Nanak Nagri) (Sikhism)
- Kiratpur Sahib (Sikhism)
- Nanded (Sikhism)
- Kartarpur Sahib, India (Sikhism)
- Kartarpur Sahib, Pakistan (Sikhism)
- Paonta Sahib (Sikhism)
- Patna Sahib (Sikhism)
- Damdama Sahib (Sikhism)
- Fatehgarh Sahib (Sikhism)
- Sri Muktsar Sahib (Sikhism)
- Chamkaur Sahib (Sikhism)
- Ayodhya (Hinduism)
- Nathdwara (Hinduism)
- Salasar (Hinduism)
- Badrinath (Hinduism)
- Kurukshetra (Hinduism)
- Dwarka (Hinduism)
- Udaipur (Hinduism)
- Gaya/Bodh Gaya (Buddhism, Hinduism)
- Kanchipuram (Hinduism)
- Lumbini (Buddhism)
- Nagpur (Buddhism, Islam)
- Kandy (Buddhism)
- Anuradhapura (Buddhism)
- Mathura (Hinduism)
- Ajmer (Islam)
- Rajgir (Buddhism, Jainism)
- Pushkar (Hinduism)
- Poo Pathi (Hinduism)
- Puri (Hinduism)
- Rameswaram (Hinduism)
- Tirupati (city) (Hinduism)
- Ujjain (Hinduism)
- Varanasi/Benares/Kashi (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism)
- Vrindavan (Hinduism)
- Allahabad/Prayag (Hinduism)
Central and East Asia
- Qufu (Confucianism)
- Lhasa (Tibetan Buddhism)
- Ise (Shinto)
- Yawata (Shinto)
- Mount Kōya (Shingon Buddhism)
- Kyoto (Japanese Buddhism, Shinto)
- Tay Ninh (Cao Dai)
- Tenri (Tenrikyo)
- Turkestan (Islam)
References
- ↑ Metti, Michael Sebastian (2011-06-01). "Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history". Stockholm University School of Business. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ↑ "Historical city Mtskheta becomes “Holy City”". Agenda.ge. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Holy City of Nippur
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.