In most parts of the world, religious activity is linked to specific
places which have ritual, mythical, or historical significance.
These "sacred spaces" become the focus of ritual activity,
pilgrimage, and symbolism, and are usually endowed with buildings
and art that celebrate the sanctity of the place, create a sense of
awe, and accommodate the activities and people who travel to visit
them.  This course offers an introduction to a representative sample
of significant sacred sites and shrines throughout the world.  These
holy places will be examined in terms of the festivals and religions
with which they are associated:  Egyptian, Greek, and Mesoamerican
religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.  We
will look at why the selected sites became holy to certain peoples
or civilizations, why these peoples constructed structures at them,
how the structures were planned to accommodate assembled groups of
persons and the attendant festivals and rituals, the nature of the
processions of the faithful to them, the meaning of these sites, and
whether their functions and significance have survived to the
present day unaltered or in a reconfigured form.