Spiritual destinations

From the city on a hill to down under

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

From Stephanie Oswald
CNN Travel Now Correspondent

May 19, 2000
Web posted at: 6:42 p.m. EDT (2242 GMT)

In this story: An Italian welcome Holy Land pilgrims Australia's Ayer's Rock RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- From the Dome of the Rock to Ayer's Rock, this is the year of the spiritual traveler. Record numbers of people are answering mystic and mythic tugs, leaving their homes in search of sacred places.

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For millions of Catholic faithful, no less than Pope John Paul II is their travel agent.

When he symbolically cracked open a massive door in St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas, he lifted the curtain on the Roman Catholic Church's Jubilee Year and a 12-month period designated as a time to make a pilgrimage.

The pope has urged the world's 1 billion Catholics to mark the estimated 2,000th year of Jesus' birth by taking a special trip. Millions, young and old, are expected to answer the call.

"I think, more than anything, people realize it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Mary Kate Blaine, a Fordham University student whose chorus is to perform at St. Peter's Basilica this month.

"It's the year 2000. What better way to bring in the millenium than going to Rome to celebrate such a special experience?"

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The Pope opened the doors on the Jubilee year last Christmas eve, encouraging spiritual journeys

The anticipated influx of tourists has inspired officials at sacred sites around the world to scramble to get ready. Parts of the Vatican, for example, have received a facelift, and Roman museums and monuments long closed are again welcoming tourists.

Assisi, Italy, also has been pushing to restore the frescoes on the ceiling of the Basilica of St. Francis. Two years ago, an earthquake shattered the church's upper heights, sending frescoes crumbling to the floor.

Since then, workers have been laboring to put the paintings back together. The upper church reopened in November, though officials say the entire task will take two more years to complete.

Assisi Mayor Georgio Bartolini said he expects millions of visitors to traipse through his city and the basilica.

"We are expecting as many as 13 million visitors between December 1999 and January 2001, and anywhere from 13,000 to 15,000 visitors a day," he said.

Italy may be a popular draw, agreed Peter Bahou, who operates a touring agency that caters to the faithful, but he thinks Israel will be the real winner in this travel season.

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Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem

"The best buy if you're looking at your money, is the Holy Land," said Bahou, whose agency, Peter's Way International, is based in Jericho, New York. "I have not seen an increase (in prices) in the Holy Land for the last three to four years. Prices are stable, and people can get good rates. The airlines have not increased the prices."

Israel, billing itself as the official destination of the millennium, has the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, an important site for Jewish, Christian and Muslim travelers.

But it has much more than that, said Arie Sommers of the Israeli Tourism Ministry.

"We were waiting for this moment for at least 1,000 years and the country is ready," said Arie Sommer of the Israeli Tourism Ministry.

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Whether you're Jewish, Christian or Muslim, Israel's Ministry of Tourism has the perfect tour for you

"We invested a lot of budget in infrastructure," he said. "For instance, we spent a lot of money in Nazareth. We spent a lot of effort in adding hotel rooms all across the country -- Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and in the northern part of Israel."

The efforts appear to have paid off. So far, tourism is up 12 percent in Israel over last year. Roughly 60 percent of the visitors are Christians who want to visit the places where Jesus ministered and lived, Sommer said.

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Central Australia's Ayer's Rock, a natural sandstone formation

But spiritual travel reaches beyond Christianity and the traditional places where faithful gather.

Others capture a sense of the sacred in the middle of Australia's Outback, where Ayer's Rock -- or Uluru, as it's known to the Aborigines -- stands.

The natural sandstone formation is 600 million years old. It juts out of the earth 1,100 feet (348 meters), and at sunset the rock takes on various hues of fiery red. It attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year.

"I said, 'I've got to go and see this magnificent rock,'" said a woman, recently admiring the rock. "Honestly, I feel like I've never felt closer to the creator than I do now."

The rock is more than just a chunk of stone that tourists visit, say Australians; they consider it the physical and spiritual heart of their country. To them , Ayer's Rock represents the delicate balance between ancient traditions, modern society and nature.

The year 2000 holds an even greater significance for this sacred site, as the Olympic torch will leave from the rock in June.

Weather: Sydney, Australia; Jerusalem; Rome
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Pursuits: Ayer's Rock (Uluru)
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In Italy Online
Vatican -- The Holy See
Rome2000.net
Best Jerusalem
Jerusalem City
Australia's Cultural Network: Uluru or Ayer's Rock
Australian Tourism Net
U.S. Consular Information Sheet: Australia; Israel; Italy
CDC Travelers' Health: Australia and the South Pacific; Middle East; Western Europe

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