Awesome Sacred Places Around the World

We know that there are many places considered holy or sacred even throughout the world, but how do you narrow down which you want to visit, that is, if you’re interested in visiting them. Which you should be… you could learn something about other cultures and have some fun while doing it! We could all use that, right? Alright, time to get down to the nitty-gritty, this is Awesome Sacred Places Around the World!

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4. Yamdrok Lake
This here freshwater lake in Tibet is one of the three biggest sacred Tibetan lakes. It’s fed by lots of smaller streams and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The name Yamdrok, in English, means Turquoise, given its color, and the lake only has one outlet stream that lies at its far western end. According to mythology held by the locals, the lake itself is actually the transformation of a goddess! The most massive power station in Tibet is the Yamdrok Hydropower Station, which sits at the lake’s western end near the little village of Baidi, and was completed and dedicated in 1996. Lakes are considered sacred by the Tibetans, as are mountains, and they’re thought to be the places in which protective deities call their homes, thus making them unique places with spiritual powers. Yamdrok is one of only four extra holy lakes, and everyone from the local villages to the Dalai Lama himself makes pilgrimages to it. It’s also believed that if the lake ever goes dry, Tibet will no longer be habitable, as it is the most significant lake in southern Tibet. Scary thought! This lake is too pretty not to want to visit, so I’ll see ya guys, I’m just gonna head on to the airport….

3. Dome of the Rock
This neat looking place is located in the Old City of Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. It was built where the Jupiter Capitolinus, a Roman temple, used to sit and was initially finished in 691 CE. The Jupiter Capitolinus was actually built on top of the sit of the Second Jewish Temple, so this is like a temple inside a temple inside a temple. Templeception. This shrine is one of the most ancient extant works of Islamic architecture. The dome is built high above an actual rock at the center of the literal, Dome of the Rock, which is called the Foundation Stone (as seen in this picture here). The stone is also sometimes referred to as the Pieced Stone considering its hole on its southeastern corner that actually leads to a cave that’s beneath the Foundation Stone, called the Well of Souls. In Judaism, this is the holiest location and millions of Jews, all around the world, pray facing the direction of the Foundation Stone. The stone is said to be from what the entirety of Earth was created and that the rock was the first part of our planet to come into existence. This place is pretty darn significant, and I think that it’s super cool. I’m not even Jewish, and I want to visit; maybe that says somethin’!

2. Batu Caves
Let’s travel to Malaysia and check this place out, no? Wow, this place is beautiful, and you can find these caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. The name comes from a river that flows past the hill, called the Sungai Batu. It’s a limestone hill and is the tenth such hill from Ampang. It is a supremely famous Hindu shrine and is one of the most famous of such shrines outside of India. The area and caves are said to be somewhere around 400 million years old and were used by the indigenous Temuan people for shelter. It was promoted as a place of worship by an Indian trader named K. Thamboosamy Pillai, and in 1890, Pillai installed the consecrated statue, or “murti” of Sri Murugan Swami here. Wooden steps used to be in place to reach the Temple Cave, built in 1920, but they’ve since received an upgrade, and there are now 272 concrete steps leading to the top. Temple Cave houses several Hindu shrines underneath its tall, vaulted ceiling, thus making it the largest and most well-known cave temple of the various that make up the Batu Caves area. Over 1.5 million people visit the Batu Caves yearly, so if you’re trying to go, get ready to fight for some standing room!

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