• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • ISLAMIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

MAJLIS AL JINN CAVE

July 31, 2016 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Oman The Majlis al Jinn Cave, the ‘gathering place of the jinn’ (or genies), is a small cave system that consists of only a single gigantic chamber.  Looking like something out of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the enormous chamber was the second largest in the world at the time of its discovery.  It is big enough and high enough that daredevils have based jumped into it.  … [Read more...]

JABAL AL-NOUR

June 26, 2016 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Saudi Arabia (842 m) – Periodic Home of the Prophet Muhammad Jabal Al-Nour is a tall, rocky hill just outside of the city of Mecca.  According to Muslim tradition, it was on this mountain where the Prophet Muhammad received his earliest divine revelations that ultimately led to the foundation of Islam.  Often overlooked because of its proximity to the great shrines of Mecca, … [Read more...]

BATTLE OF NUJAIR (NUJAIR BATTLEFIELD)

December 7, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Nujair, Saudi Arabia (633 AD) The Battle of Nujair was the last major military engagement of the Ridda Wars as well as one of the largest of the war.  In this battle, the forces loyal to the caliphate of Medina crushed the last major anti-Muslim uprising in Arabia.  More of a siege, Nujair represented the final holdout against the hegemony of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula, a … [Read more...]

MOSQUES AND MUSEUMS OF THE UAE (MASJID SHEIKH ZAYED, SHARJAH MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION)

April 16, 2015 By Howard Kramer 2 Comments

Abu Dhabi, Sharjah & Other Cities, United Arab Emirates Once little more than a collection of small kingdoms tucked away on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, the region now known as the United Arab Emirates has grown from a relatively unimportant mercantile enclave into a world economic powerhouse.  Since the end of World War II, vast reserves of oil have made … [Read more...]

MOSQUES AND MUSEUMS OF THE GULF STATES (MASJID AL FATIH, MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART)

April 16, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Doha, Qatar; Manama, Bahrain; and Kuwait City, Kuwait The three small Persian Gulf states of Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are closely tied to the United Arab Emirates in terms if history, culture and great modern architectural ambitions.  This is particularly true of neighboring Qatar and Bahrain, which at one point were nearly incorporated into the UAE.  Huge quantities of oil … [Read more...]

GREAT MOSQUE OF SANA’A

April 14, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Sana’a, Yemen Yemen is something of a conundrum in the Islamic world.  Geographically the closest country by land to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, it was the first place outside of what is now Saudi Arabia where Islam was introduced.  It then spent well over a thousand years as little more than a forgotten corner of the Muslim world.  Thanks to its strangely ironic … [Read more...]

AL-SHAFFEI MOSQUE (MASJID AL-SHAFFEI)

April 14, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Jeddah, the City of a Thousand Mosques, is one of the most important historical cities of Islam.  Because Jeddah stands in the immense shadows of Mecca and Medina, it is perhaps easy to forget that this ancient port city was once the commercial powerhouse of the region.  It was Jeddah that made the Hejaz region economically viable in Muhammad’s day, and as … [Read more...]

MAQBARAT AL-BAQI CEMETERY

April 12, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Medina, Saudi Arabia The Maqbarat Al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina is, along with the Jannatul Mualla Cemetery in Mecca, the most important and famous cemetery in the Islamic world.  Also known as the Garden of Heaven, it is home to the gravesites of literally dozens of major personages associated with the early days of Islam.  In addition to the many members of the Prophet … [Read more...]

JANNATUL MUALLA CEMETERY

April 12, 2015 By Howard Kramer 2 Comments

Mecca, Saudi Arabia The Jannatul Mualla Cemetery in Mecca is one of the two most famous graveyards in Islam.  Not quite as famous or historic as its counterpart, the Maqbarat Al Baqi cemetery in Medina, it is nevertheless older and boasts its share of famous gravesites.  The ancestral cemetery of the Banu Hashim and other local Quraish clans, many of the Prophet Muhammad’s … [Read more...]

HILL OF ARAFAT & TENT CITY OF MINA

April 12, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Mecca, Saudi Arabia Virtually every pilgrim to Mecca makes a detour to visit the Tent City of Mina and the Hill of Arafat.  These are mandatory stops for those pilgrims making the official Hajj, and important ceremonies and traditions take place at both of these locations.  Both places played a small but important role in the early history of Islam.  The Hill of Arafat is the … [Read more...]

Next Page »

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2023 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.