Sacred Europe
Places of Peace and Power
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Foreword by Graham Hancock, author of #1 Bestseller, Fingerprints of the Gods.
National Geographic photographer and anthropologist, MARTIN GRAY is recognized throughout the world as the premier expert in the study of sacred sites, holy places and pilgrimage traditions.
During a thirty-year period he traveled extensively in more than one hundred and forty countries to study and photograph many hundreds of sacred places of prehistoric, historic and contemporary cultures. Martin is an expert in the subjects of ancient religion, sacred geography, archaeoastronomy and ecopsychology.
Sacred Europe is the most comprehensive work of its kind ever assembled.
Sacred sites include:
Church of the Virgin Mary, Geghard Monastery — Armenia
Etchmiadzin Cathedral — Armenia
Garni Temple — Armenia
Khor Virap Monastery — Armenia
Mt. Ararat — Armenia
Pilgrimage Church of Mariahilf, Hallstatt — Austria
Medjugorje — Bosnia
Rila Monastery — Bulgaria
Bornholm Island — Denmark
Abbey of Conques — France
Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes — France
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Le Puy — France
Church of Three Saints, Saintes de la Mer — France
Mont-Saint-Michel — France
Mt. Blanc — France
Rocamadour — France
Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert — France
Vezelay — France
Gelati — Georgia
Jvari (Dzhvari) — Georgia
Uplistsikhe — Georgia
Externsteine Rocks — Germany
Church of the Megalohari, Tinos — Greece
Delphi — Greece
Monasteries of Mt. Athos — Greece
Monastery of Rousanou, Meteora — Greece
Monastery of St. John, Patmos — Greece
Mt. Olympus — Greece
Parthenon, Athens — Greece
Blarney Stone — Ireland
Carrowkeel — Ireland
Carrowmore — Ireland
Holy Wells — Ireland
Loughcrew — Ireland
Mt. Croagh Patrick — Ireland
New Grange, Knowth Dowth — Ireland
Skellig Michael — Ireland
The Round Towers — Ireland
Franciscan Holy Places, Assisi — Italy
Sanctuary of Monte Gargano — Italy
Temple of Hera, Paestum — Italy
The Holy House of Loreto — Italy
Basilica of Our Lady of Aglona — Latvia
Hill of Crosses — Lithuania
Neolithic Temples — Malta
Ostrog Monastery — Montenegro
Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim — Norway
Marian Sanctuary of Jasna Gora, Czestochowa — Poland
Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima — Portugal
Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod — Russia
Monastery of Optina Pustyn — Russia
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Valaam — Russia
Monastery of Trinity-St. Sergius, Sergiev Posad — Russia
Black Virgin of Guadalupe — Spain
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar, Zaragoza — Spain
Santiago de Compostela — Spain
Walled City of Avila — Spain
The Benedictine Einsieldeln Abbey — Switzerland
Kiev Perchersk Lavra — Ukraine
Pochayiv Lavra — Ukraine
Svyatogorsk Monastery — Ukraine
Troyitsko-Illynsky Monastery — Ukraine
Avebury Stone Ring — England, United Kingdom
Bath — England, United Kingdom
Callanish Stone Ring — Scotland, United Kingdom
Canterbury — England, United Kingdom
Durham and York — England, United Kingdom
Men-an-Tol Stone, Cornwall — England, United Kingdom
St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall — England, United Kingdom
St. Michael's Tower, Glastonbury — England, United Kingdom
Stonehenge — England, United Kingdom
Stones of Stenness — Scotland, United Kingdom
The Cerne Abbas Giant — England, United Kingdom
In 1997, Martin launched SacredSites.com. Since then, more than thirty-five million people have visited the website. In 2004 National Geographic published The Geography of Religion, of which Martin was the principal photographer.
Customer Reviews
Martin Gray does it again!
I have had a long fascination with sacred places similar to Martin Gray. I can attest both of us have traveled far, walked long distances, and made personal sacrifices to get off the beaten trail to visit these mystical locations. Like Martin, I am in utter fascination, both of these physical location where these sites can be found, and their deeply powerful spiritual qualities. They have inspired humans for centuries, and continue to do so.
"Sacred Europe" is an amazing journey deep into the continent where many of our ancestors harkened from, and where our collective passions reside. Coupled with amazing photographs, Martin's writing is concise, factual, and almost poetic in its seamless flow of prose. The pages of this book are as beautiful as the places they portray. This book is a must-have for anyone fascinated with ancient and recent history, exquisite photography, and a back-story on the most awe-inspirine locations in Europe. Like Martin's first book "Sacred Earth," this book takes us deep in and back out again for the overall experience of seemingly visiting these locations personally. "Sacred Europe" will not disappoint!
Comprehensive and fascinating guide to European Sacred Sites
I like this book. It is like a LONELY PLANET Guide to Sacred Sites in Europe. The eBook contains many sharp (on my iPad 3 with Retina Display) photos of the various Sacred Sites in Europe. The layout, photos, and text are professionally done. It is well researched with an extensive Bibliography and engrossing to read. I like the fact that the author includes not only churches and temples but also prehistoric standing stones and sacred mountains. If you are familiar with the author's previous book SACRED EARTH, then you will like this eBook as well. Although focusing only on Europe, this eBook includes many sites and photographs not included in SACRED EARTH. I feel that this book is great for people who love spirituality and travel.
The book has 6 main parts:
the author's journey to photographing and studying Sacred Sites
a general introduction to Sacred Sites
photos and text of the European Sacred Sites
appendices, including more in-depth essays on some of these sites and a comprehensive list of Sacred Sites in Europe by country
bibliography
about the author
The author's journey to photographing and studying Sacred Sites is enlightening and gives a perspective on why someone might want to visit these sites. The author did a lot of traveling and visiting to Sacred Sites before consciously deciding to pursue this subject. He also specifically discusses his journey/pilgrimage through Europe.
The general introduction to Sacred Sites discusses what makes a site sacred, as well as observed alignments of the stones or temples with the stars and archaeo-astronomy, sacred geography, and sacred geometry.
The sites are grouped together by country, with the countries being listed in alphabetical order. Each section includes the history and traditional lore about the site as well as the author's personal experiences at the site. The section also includes interactive GOOGLE Maps so you can quickly see where the site is located, which helps if you are planning to visit several of these sites. The author describes and illustrates photographically various types of sites:
* standing stones, such as the Blarney Stone (Ireland), Avebury and Stonehenge (England), and the Callanish Stone Rings (Scotland)
* mountains, such as Mount Blanc (France), Olympus (Greece), and Croagh Patrick (Ireland)
* temples, such as Delphi and Parthenon (Greece) and Paestum (Italy)
* churches, such as Notre Dame and Lourdes (France) and Nidaros Cathedral (Norway)
The bibliography includes the books referenced in the text as well as the author's brief description and comments on these books, which is a nice touch that I appreciate.
The about the author section provides current information on the author, including a link to his website.
To summarize: a book that makes learning about European history and spirituality fascinating.
As Advertised. Can't wait for the next one!
I had no idea that St. Patrick was not Irish, and that he lived to be 111! That's just one of many things I learned from Sacred Europe. The pictures are awesome. Loved the intro video, interactive image galleries, and maps. Some of the more popular sites I already knew a thing or two about, but the less popular sites, especially those in Eastern Europe is where I really gained historical perspective on how Christianity, Islam, and Paganism integrated through time. Even more important, the work is objective. Couldn't tell if Martin Gray is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, whatever, so anyone who has an open mind, who seeks wisdom and inspiration, should snag this one up. I also found the price almost absurdly cheap considering the magnitude of content, and research that went into it.