Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām ("The Sacred Mosque") is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims worldwide turn towards while performing daily prayers and is Islam's holiest place. The mosque is also known as the Grand Mosque. The current structure covers an area of 356,800 square metres (88.2 acres) including ...

Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of a Hindu deity Shakti. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dussehra. Worshipping the Divine Mother is the main them...

Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage center located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in world with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala is believed to be the place where the Hindu God Ayyappan meditated after killing the powerful demoness, Mahishi. Ayyappan's ...

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. The Way of St James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome a...

Saint James' Church is a church on the island of Saint Helena and is part of the Diocese of St Helena. It is situated in the capital Jamestown and is the oldest Anglican Church in the southern hemisphere; the present building was put up in 1774. Oliver Cromwell granted a new charter to the English East India Company in 1657, which gave the company the right to fortify...

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a new Bishop of Rome, also known as the Pope. The pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church. The conclave has been the procedure for choosing the pope for more than half of the time the church has been ...

Spain is especially renowned for its Holy Week traditions or Semana Santa. Holy Week, the last week of Lent, which is the week immediately before Easter. For more than 500 years, Holy Week of Málaga has been constantly present in the religious and popular feeling of people from Málaga. The Holy Week religious celebrations in Málaga are famous coun...

Holy Week in Seville (Semana Santa de Sevilla) is one of the most important traditional events of the city and also the most important Holy Week in Spain. It is celebrated in the week leading up to Easter (Holy Week among Christians), and is one of the better known religious events within Spain. This week features the procession of pasos, floats of lifelike wooden scu...

Many towns and villages around the world celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) at Easter time. But not many towns celebrates it quite like Antigua, Guatemala. Holy Week is full of solemn activities that replicate the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ. The entire city participates in this yearly event, from the very young to the very old. Hundreds of locals dress in viol...

The two main processions that take place in Sorrento on Good Friday are the Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows (or the "Visit in the Sepulchres"), organised by the Venerable Arciconfraternita of Saint Monica and the Procession of the Crucified Christ, organised by the Venerable Arciconfraternita of the Death. The first procession takes place at 3:30 a.m. on Holy (Maun...

The settlement of Komiža was first mentioned in the 12th century. In the 13th century, the Benedictinesestablished the St. Nicholas Monastery on elevated ground above the settlement. The oldest part of the monastery is a single-naved Romanesque church with a semi-circular apse dating from the 13th century.

Timkat (which means "baptism") (also spelled Timket, or Timqat) is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 19 (or 20 on Leap Year), corresponding to the 10th day of Terr following the Ethiopian calendar. Timket celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. This festival is best known for its ritual reenactment of baptism (sim...

Urbino Cathedral (Duomo di Urbino, Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Catholic cathedral in the city of Urbino, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1986 it has been the seat of the Archbishop of Urbino-Urbania-Sant'Angelo in Vado, and was previously the seat of the Archbishops of Urbino. The first cathedral on the si...

The Mawlaw'īyya / Mevlevi Order is a Sufi order in Konya (capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate) founded by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet and founder of the Mewlewiyya order of dervishes. He was a poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. The Mawlaw'īyya are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous prac...

Wrocław Walking Pilgrimage is an annual walking pilgrimage from Wrocław to Jasna Góra held in August. It leaves Wrocław on August 2 and after nine days of walking approximately 230 kilometers enters Częstochowa. Wrocław's Archbishop Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz decided to create the Wrocław Walking Pilgrimage to Jasna Góra in 1981. Before this occurred, g...