A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. 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.
List of holy cities in the world
Africa +CityCountryReligion(s)Axum EthiopiaChristianityAlexandria EgyptChristianityChinguetti MauritaniaIslamEwu NigeriaChristianityHarar EthiopiaIslamIfẹ NigeriaYoruba religionLalibela EthiopiaChristianityNkamba Democratic Republic of the CongoKimbanguismKairouan TunisiaIslamNri-Igbo NigeriaOdinalaPoint of Sangomar SenegalSerer religionTouba SenegalIslam (Sufi)Yaboyabo SenegalSerer religion
Asia
Western and South Asia
CityCountryReligion(s)Amritsar IndiaSikhismAnandpur Sahib IndiaSikhismAntakya (Antioch) TurkeyChristianityAyodhya IndiaHinduismBalkh AfghanistanIslam (Shia)Beirut LebanonChristianityBethlehem PalestineChristianity, JudaismBhaktapur NepalHinduism, Buddhism Bodh Gaya IndiaBuddhism, HinduismDwarka IndiaHinduismHaifa IsraelBaháʼí FaithHebron PalestineJudaism, IslamHittin IsraelDruze faithDana, Nissim. (2003). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status, Sussex Academic Press, pp. 28–30.Janakpur NepalHinduismJerusalem Israel / Palestine(Status of Jerusalem)Judaism, Christianity, IslamKanchipuram IndiaHinduism, Jainism, BuddhismHaridwar IndiaHinduismKarbala IraqIslam (Shia)Kathmandu NepalHinduism, Buddhism Khalwat al-Bayada LebanonDruze faithKonya TurkeyIslam (Sufi)Kufa IraqIslam (Shia)Kushinagar IndiaBuddhismLahore PakistanIslam, SikhismLalitpur NepalHinduism, Buddhism Lumbini NepalBuddhism, Hinduism Mashhad IranIslam (Shia)Mathura IndiaHinduismMecca Saudi ArabiaIslamMedina Saudi ArabiaIslamMeron IsraelJudaismMtskheta GeorgiaChristianityNashik IndiaHinduism, BuddhismNablus PalestineJudaism, Samaritanism Najaf IraqIslam (Shia)Nankana Sahib PakistanSikhismNazareth IsraelChristianity Prayagraj IndiaHinduismQom IranIslam (Shia)Safed IsraelJudaismŞanlıurfa (Urfa, Edessa) TurkeyChristianity, Islam (Sufi)Sarnath IndiaBuddhismTiberias IsraelJudaismTripoli LebanonChristianityVagharshapat ArmeniaChristianity (Armenian Apostolic Church)Varanasi IndiaHinduism, BuddhismYazd IranZoroastrianism
Central and East Asia CityCountryReligion(s)Beigang TaiwanFolk religionDajia TaiwanFolk religionIse JapanShintoKyoto JapanBuddhism, ShintoTenri JapanTenrikyoLhasa ChinaBuddhismTurkistan KazakhstanIslam (Sufi)
Southeast Asia
CityCountryReligion(s)Antipolo, Rizal PhilippinesChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Besakih IndonesiaBalinese HinduismCebu City PhilippinesChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Cigugur IndonesiaSunda WiwitanEl Salvador, Misamis Oriental PhilippinesChristianity (Roman Catholicism)BusinessWeek Mindanao 26 August 2011: "Divine Mercy Shrine in Misamis Oriental celebrates Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary" Iloilo City PhilippinesChristianityManaoag, Pangasinan PhilippinesChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Mandalay MyanmarBuddhismNaga, Camarines Sur PhilippinesChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Siem Reap CambodiaBuddhism, Hinduism
Europe
CityCountryReligion(s)Assisi ItalyChristianityAthens GreeceChristianity, HellenismAvila SpainChristianityBarcelona SpainChristianityCanterbury England, United KingdomChristianity (Anglicanism)Caravaca de la Cruz SpainChristianityCologne GermanyChristianityCorinth GreeceChristianityCzęstochowa PolandChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Fátima PortugalChristianityGlastonbury England, United KingdomChristianity, DruidryIstanbul (Constantinople) Turkey Christianity (Eastern Orthodoxy)Kilkenny IrelandChristianityKraljevo SerbiaChristianityLourdes FranceChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Madrid SpainChristianityMarija Bistrica CroatiaChristianityMedjugorje Bosnia and HerzegovinaChristianityMilan ItalyChristianityMoscow RussiaChristianity (Russian Orthodox Church)Munich Bavaria, GermanyChristianityVeliky Novgorod RussiaChristianityOhrid North MacedoniaChristianityParis FranceChristianityPrague Czech RepublicChristianityRome ItalyChristianitySantiago de Compostela SpainChristianitySanto Toribio de Liébana SpainChristianitySergiyev Posad RussiaChristianityThessaloniki, Mount Athos GreeceChristianity (Greek Orthodox Church) Toledo SpainChristianityTrondheimChristianityUman UkraineBreslov, Hasidic, JudaismUppsala SwedenChristianity, Norse PaganismVatican City Vatican CityChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Varallo Sesia Piedmont, ItalyChristianity (Roman Catholicism)Vladimir RussiaChristianityWalsingham England, United KingdomChristianityWarsaw PolandChristianityWittenberg GermanyChristianity (Lutheranism)York England, United KingdomChristianity (Anglicanism)
North America
CityCountryReligion(s)Clearwater, Florida United StatesChurch of ScientologyMexico City MexicoChristianityQuebec City CanadaChristianitySalt Lake City United StatesLatter Day Saint movementSiparia Trinidad and TobagoChristianity, Hinduism
South America
CityCountryReligion(s)Aparecida BrazilChristianityLuján ArgentinaChristianity
See also
Ecclesiastical capital Pilgrimage Four Holy Cities (Judaism)
References
External links