While different peoples and cultures have differing belief systems, there are certain sites around the world which are both held sacred and from which a sacredness emanates, places which resonate with people of diverse backgrounds. In this unique travel book, author Tony Grey visits and explores seven such places: the east Alligator river at Kakadu, an ancient Egyptian temple, Delphi in Greece, Jerusalem’s Western Wall, Assisi, birthplace of Saint Francis, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the mountains of Bhutan.
For each of the seven places, Grey explores its history, its meaning to the local people and to those who continue to visit, as well as detailing his own visit to each place. There is a careful selection of just a few photographs of each place – kept minimal, it seems, to emphasise the spiritual aspects rather than the visual.
This is not a light read, with detailed explanations of the differing aspects of each of the seven sites spanning several chapters each, as well as an introduction and several pages of reflections at the end. But for those with an interest in the spiritual nature of humans, this is an interesting read.
Seven Gateways, by Tony Grey
Halstead Press, 2008