Tour Hosts Review By Levent Leigh Posted on Religious
From time immemorial, man has worshiped gods. Throughout the world are shrines and other physical remnants that trace the history of man’s quest to reunite with the divine. This month’s newsletter is about some of the great religious shrines and pilgrimage sites of the world. (Bear in mind that while some of our Tour Hosts visit these sites, the tours they offer are not strictly religious in nature.) The Kalachakra, the sacred initiation ceremony performed by the Dalai Lama is a pilgrimage into one’s self. The next ceremony will be in January 2003 in Bodhgaya, India – the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Spirit of India will escort a small group to the ceremony. For a great story of what to expect, The Kalachakra tells the tail of the last trip Spirit of India ran to the event. India was the birthplace of both Buddhism and Hinduism, but not the only country where they existed side by side. Both religions reached Cambodia’s Khmer Empire at roughly the same time, but Hinduism was preferred. “The Ruins of Angkor” tells of the 100-square-mile temple complex, most renowned for the Angkor Wat temple. While the complex was both a political and spiritual center, the religious buildings are the only remaining structures, having been constructed in stone. Built between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D., most of the temples honored the Hindu gods Vishnu and Shiva. When Buddhism overcame Hinduism in the 15th century, leading in part to the fall of the Khmer Empire, some of the temples at the Angkor complex were rededicated to the Buddha.
Specializing in travel to Southeast Asia, Gecko Travel offers tours to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. Other fascinating sites throughout Southeast Asia include Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. In a report from the field, Gecko’s own Hamish Chalmers leads us on a journey through the “Temples of Laos.” The temples Hamish covers in his article are dedicated to the Buddha and provide an interesting contrast to Angkor’s homage to the Hindu gods. The Chinese seemed to prefer constructing images of the Buddha rather than houses of worship. The city of Datong is home to “A mountain full of Buddhas.” Here 53 grottos house more than 51,000 carvings, paintings and bas reliefs. The Buddhas carved from the mountainside more than 1,500 years ago range in size from that of a thumbnail to a 56-foot colossus. Nomadic Expeditions offers a trip to these outstanding caves. It also has trips to the hidden treasures of Tibet, including the Gandan Monastery, and Jokhang, the oldest, most sacred temple in Tibet. Its tour, "Mongolia Unveiled: Volcanoes, Temples, and Treasures," highlights the Amarbayasgalant Monastery, built in the 17th century and dedicated to the sculptor Zanabazar who was Mongolia’s first Buddhist leader.
Southwest from Mongolia, in Afghanistan, the representation in stone of the Buddha reached its high point, literally, in the 167-foot-tall carving of the Bamiyan Buddhas. This past World Heritage Site "Pick" was destroyed by the Taliban in March, 2001, the unfortunate victim of a barbaric political system. Throughout history, most conquering states and religions have assimilated or preserved much of their predecessors’ spiritual and cultural values. In this case, the world was not so lucky.
Continuing across the Asian continent to its westernmost tip, we arrive in Asia Minor. Turkey, situated as it was in the center of the old Graeco-Roman world, is home to a great number of current shrines and ancient ruins. The city of Ephesus was the home of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Temple to Artemis. Just 55 miles away, “The Ancient Synagogue at Sardis” is the largest synagogue ever excavated. The Jewish population of this city goes back to 550 B.C. and the Synagogue was presented to the community in the 2nd century B.C.
Sardis is also the site of one of the “Seven Churches of Asia Minor,” mentioned in the Book of Revelations by St. John. Asia Minor Travel & Tours offers tours that encompass all of Turkey’s amazing sites. Its "Millennium Tour: Birth of Christianity" visits many sites mentioned in the Bible regarding the early days of Christianity. Additional sites include: The Church of the Virgin in Ephesus, a pilgrimage site for Christians and Moslems alike, where Mary is said to have spent her last days; Hagia Sophia, the Basilica rebuilt by the Roman Emperor Justinian in 532-37 and later used as a Mosque until 1934; and the otherworldly cities of Cappadocia, where early Christians hid from Roman persecution.
»