For Immediate Release

24 Ethereal Locations Where Legends That Transcend Time Were Born

Spiritual Pilgrimages in Europe and the Mediterranean via Cruise Ship

DETROIT (Sept. 10, 2013) – One of the many reasons people travel the world is to visit locations that have significant meaning in their lives – ones they feel will provide spiritual enlightenment or a life-changing experience. These “sacred sites” reflect a common thread throughout the great religions and are viewed as places where the faithful can go for healing, guidance or divine inspiration.

Unfortunately, many of the world’s most sacred sites have been inaccessible to all but the hardiest of travelers – those who were able to make arduous overland journeys. Now, however, say the cruise experts at CruiseCompete, travelers will find that today’s cruise itineraries make many of these locations surprisingly easy to visit.

In a three part series, CruiseCompete will provide information on worldwide pilgrimage locations that consistently draw travelers in with their history and mystique. This first segment touches on locations in Europe and the Mediterranean. To read more about worldwide locations, please visit /sacred_places/.

In Europe:

1. Site of the Virgin Mary’s reported apparitions, a pilgrimage site for over 150 years...Bordeaux, France: Lourdes
2. A monastery that was built only at night to avoid alerting the Ottomans – its guest rooms that have hosted the Prince of Wales...Bucharest, Romania: Hurezi Monastery
3. Aachen is Europe's oldest cathedral and 32 holy Roman emperors were crowned here. It is also home to Charlemagne's throne...Cologne, Germany: Aachen Cathedral. Cologne also houses the Shrine of the Three Kings, where the sarcophagus is rumored to hold the remains of Mechoir, Balthazar and Caspar, the three wise men who traveled to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
4. Megalithic mound, 5300 years old – believed to be burial ground for pagan rulers. It is older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids...Dublin, Ireland: Newgrange
5. This holy well, built around 1500, is legendary for healing...Holyhead, Holywell, Wales: St Winefride's Well
6. Almost 100 years ago, in 1917, apparitions of the Virgin Mary appeared to three children here...Lisbon, Portugal: Our Lady of Fatima
7. Hundreds of stone columns, "Europe's most magnificent Muslim monument"...Madrid, Spain: Mezquita
8. D-Day Memorial to fallen soldiers...Beaches of Normandy, France: Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
9. Legendary home of the Sancta Camisa (part of Mary's shawl worn at Jesus' birth.). This cathedral also has 28,000 feet of stained glass...Paris, France: Chartres Cathedral
10. Site of a two-mile pilgrimage across a tidal flat, done to draw strength from Archangel Michael...Paris, France: Mont–St.–Michael
11. Sacred stone site in England. Its true purpose remains unknown...Southampton, England: Stonehenge

In the Mediterranean:

12. Where Moses is reputed to have received the 10 Commandments...Cairo, Sinai Peninsula: Mt Sinai/St. Catherine's Monastery
13. The site where Jesus chose his apostles and performed miracles...Haifa, Nazareth / Galilee (Haifa), Israel: Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberius)
14. A mosque built in 1609 with more than 20,000 tiles and 260 stained glass windows...Istanbul, Turkey: Blue Mosque
15. Said to be Jesus’ birthplace, this cave (the former barn and manger) hosts the Altar of the Nativity...Jerusalem, Bethlehem: Cave of the Nativity
16. One of Judaism’s sacred sites, it was built in 515 B.C. and was intended as the final resting place of the Ark...Jerusalem, Israel: Western Wall
17. This church is known as the place Jesus' body was prepared for burial...Jerusalem, Israel: Holy Sepulchre Church
18. This site hosts a cluster of museums and monuments in remembrance of the Holocaust...Jerusalem, Israel: Yad Veshem
19. 103 mentions in the bible; 330 trees that are over 1,000 years old...Tripoli, Lebanon: Cedars of God Lebanon
20. Site where St Francis received his stigmata – Mount La Verna...Livorno, Italy: Chapel of the Stigmata
21. Home to Tombs of Pharaohs of the New Kingdom ? Tutankhamun, also known as for King Tut, is buried there... Luxor, Egypt: Valley of the Kings
22. St. John allegedly wrote the book of Revelation here...Rhodes, Greece: the Cave of the Apocalypse
23. Tuscan medieval abbey from 1218 (Ruins) and site of “Sword in the Stone” left by Galgano...Rome, Italy: Abbazia Di San Galgano
24. Home of Michelangelo's Pieta ? the Pope delivers the Angelus blessing every Sunday at St. Peter's square...Rome, Italy: St. Peter's Basilica

These sites are but a sampling of cruise-accessible locations. To read more information on worldwide locations, please visit /sacred_places/, and watch for part two of CruiseCompete’s sacred locations: Asia and the Middle East.

# # #

Note to Editors:

CruiseCompete has been the premier online cruise marketplace since 2003 (see media praises). This complimentary service allows consumers to request quotes from trusted travel agents, compare offers, see other consumer reviews of agents and agencies responding, and then contact preferred travel agents directly for more information and to book a cruise.

CruiseCompete publishes CruiseTrends™, monthly stats based on actual consumer quote requests and transactions that give an inside look at consumer trends and what consumers want in cruise vacations.

CruiseCompete takes top honors in Travel + Leisure Magazine's “Top 60 Best Apps and Websites for Travelers”(September 2012) with an honorable mention. The Wall Street Journal praised CruiseCompete as “Best Cruise Travel Site,” The New York Times says, “... independent travel agents compete to offer you the best deal," and follows similar praise from Kiplinger’s, The Washington Post, while The Street says, “Score luxury cruises at bargain prices.” See us in Gayot’s Guide to the Good Life and Zagat says, “This free clearing house lets you choose your cruise and get competing bids from agents. Hundreds of agents have access to your request and respond with their best offers via the site.”

For more information, please visit CruiseCompete.com or Cruise Compete Groups.

CruiseCompete is an Iowa limited liability company and is not a travel agency or owned by a travel agency.

CruiseCompete – Find us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter!

Media Contact:
Heidi M. Allison
Shane and Shane, Inc.
+1-248-651-4491 office
+1-248-935-3224 mobile
Heidi@ShaneandShaneInc.com