ABSTRACT
Religious shrines are among the many places tourists visit, for temples, mosques, cathedrals, and other religious sites are among the most significant creations of any culture. 1 Tourists come to a religious shrine to encounter history, to gaze at its architecture and sculpture, and to snap photographs, which they take away as mementos. The shrine may be of spiritual importance to a tourist, but just as likely it is not. On occasion, tourists will encounter people for whom the shrine is spiritually important. Some of these will be local inhabitants. Others have come from the surrounding region, perhaps a half-day’s or a day’s journey distant from their homes. Others will be pilgrims who have come from a considerable distance to visit the shrine (Gold 1988,135).
