ABSTRACT
Medieval Christians often and Jewish pilgrims always, visit their holy sites as tolerated tourists. The holy places themselves are under the physical control of another faith. No wonder that pilgrims are so often relieved to find holy sites in good condition, and they are worried other places will fall into ruin. In some cases there is a definite, active event, such as a lion protecting a grave. Such dramatic events very rarely happen at the well-established holy places in Hebron and Jerusalem. In fact, at the well known shrines, the pilgrims often admire the buildings and architecture of other faiths. The theme of holy sites and relics having some kind of power to protect themselves from infidels recurs frequently in Christian and Jewish accounts, but hardly ever in the writing of Ibn Jubayr or Ibn Battuta. Muslim holy places did not need to act in self-defense. Non-Muslims were barred from Mecca and had been almost from the birth of Islam.
