Holy Places : How Pilgrimage Changed the World

by Hurlock, Kathryn

History: earliest times to present day

Published 05/03/2026 by Profile Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 464 pages, b/w photos & illustrations integrated throughout text

'One simply cannot do justice to Kathryn Hurlock's vivid and remarkably wide-ranging page-turner' Country LifeThis year, as they have for millennia, many people around the world will set out on pilgrimages. But these are not only journeys of personal and spiritual devotion - they are also political acts, affirmations of identity and engagements with deep-rooted historical narratives.

Kathryn Hurlock follows the trail of pilgrimage through nineteen sacred sites - from the temples of Jerusalem to the banks of the Ganges, by way of Iona, Lourdes, Amritsar and Buenos Aires - revealing the many ways in which this ancient practice has shaped our religions and our world. Pilgrimages have transformed the fates of cities, anointed dynasties, provided guidance in hard times and driven progress in good. Filled with fascinating insights, Holy Places unveils the complex histories and contemporary endurance of one of our most fundamental human urges.