world reviewer
Martin Gray
Areas of expertise
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- Member since
- 3rd January 2008
My career as a photographer of sacred architecture and pilgrimage sites began when I was a young boy. My father was in the US diplomatic service and because of this I was privileged to travel widely around the world. Archaeology and photography were my father's hobbies and my mother was fascinated by classical music and painting, thus from my earliest years I was immersed in the arts and antiquities of foreign cultures. When I was twelve years old our family moved to India for four years. During this period I went on frequent journeys, both alone and in the company of wandering holy men, to the temples, mosques and sacred caves of India, Nepal and Kashmir. Reading widely in the fields of Buddhism and Hinduism, and intrigued with the beauty and mystery of the sacred places, I dreamed of one day producing a guidebook and photographic atlas of the great Asian pilgrimage shrines. After my family's return to the United States I entered the University of Arizona with the intention of studying Mesoamerican archaeology but soon left, drawn back to India by the call of the spiritual quest and the desire to become a mountain hermit in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism. While living in northern India I became a member of a monastic order and for the next ten years, both in India and the west, cultivated a deep practice of meditation.
At the age of twenty-eight I left monastic life behind, returned to the US, and started two travel companies. Within three years these companies were bringing thousands of tourists to the Caribbean and Mexico and I was becoming a very successful businessman. Yet there was an emptiness in my heart and soul for I yearned to do something more aligned with my spiritual practices. My prayers were soon answered. On a journey to South America, visiting the archaeological sites of Easter Island and Machu Picchu, I experienced a powerful reawakening of my interest in ancient sacred places. So strong was this interest that I decided to pursue my earlier ambition of photographing the world's great sacred architecture.
Returning to the US, I sold my business and began a twenty year period of traveling as a wandering pilgrim to over 1000 sacred sites in more than 80 countries around the world. Traveling frequently by bicycle and visiting hundreds of temples, monasteries and sacred mountains, I conducted extensive studies of sacred site mythology, the history of religions and the anthropology of pilgrimage traditions. Along the way, I also conducted a comprehensive photographic documentation of the great holy places.
During my travels, I recognized the sacred places to be repositories of many of the world's greatest artistic and cultural treasures. However, because of their out-of-doors locations and their resulting exposure to industrial pollution, the sacred structures do not receive the protection which paintings, sculptures and other art are given in museums. Viewing this situation, I recognized that my research and travels had a greater purpose than merely my own education or the production of a beautiful photography book. Public attention needed to be drawn to the degraded condition of these wondrous art pieces so that they might be preserved for the benefit and education of future generations.
In an attempt to assist in this education and preservation work I created a multi-projector slide show that communicates both the extraordinary beauty and precarious situation of the sacred sites. During the past fifteen years, I have presented this slide show at museums, universities and conferences around the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia, to more than 125,000 people. Building on the success of these slide shows, I created the Places of Peace and Power web site that has, since its inception in late 1997, received more than 25 million visitors. In 2004 National Geographic published The Geography of Religion, of which I was the principal photographer. In 2007 Sterling published Sacred Earth, a collection of 200 of my color photographs of sacred sites around the world.
Martin Gray's activity
- 22 Jun 2009
Martin Gray reviewed Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha) in Bangkok, Thailand
Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha) in Bangkok might not rate a second glance if not for its astonishing Buddha image. Wat Traimit is thought to date from the 13th century. The Golden Buddha image is about 900 years old and is cast in the Sukhot…"
- 31 Mar 2009
Martin Gray reviewed Nantes Cathedral in Nantes, France
History: Begun in 1434, Nantes' cathedral was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The cathedral wasn't finished until the end of the 19th century, but it remained amazingly architecturally harmonious. After a 1972 fire destroyed the roof, the interior…"
Martin Gray reviewed Tours Cathedral in Tours, France
The Tours Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours), dedicated to Saint Gatien, its first bishop, was begun about 1170 to replace the just-started cathedral that burned down in 1166 during the quarrel between Louis VII of France and Henry II of Englan…"
- 23 Mar 2009
Martin Gray reviewed Kairaouine Mosque in Fes, Morocco
The Kairaouine Mosque (Djemaa el Kairaouine) in Fes is the second-largest mosque in Morocco (after the new Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca) and gives Al-Azhar in Cairo a run for its money as the world's oldest university. Its minaret dates from 956 and is…"
- 20 Mar 2009
Martin Gray reviewed Saadian Tombs in Marrakech, Morocco
The Saadian Tombs in Marrakesh were sealed up for centuries until their rediscovery in 1917. Occupying a quiet enclosure at the kasbah, the tombs are magnificently decorated with colorful tiles, Arabic script and elaborate carvings. The enclosure consi…"
- 06 Mar 2009
Martin Gray reviewed Old Paphos in Cyprus
In the ancient Greek world, Palea Paphos was one of the most important pilgrimage centers due to its famous Sanctuary of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and fertility. Today, virtually all that remains is the holy ground itself. The ancient Sanctuary of…"
- 04 Mar 2009
Martin Gray reviewed Mount Olympus in Greece
Traditionally regarded as the heavenly abode of the Greek gods and the site of the throne of Zeus, Olympos seems to have originally existed as an idealized mountain that only later came to be associated with a specific peak. The early epics, the Illiad a…"
- 09 Sep 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia
The Prophet's Mosque has a flat paved roof topped with 24 domes on square bases. Holes pierced into the base of each dome illuminate the interior. The roof is also used for prayer during peak times, when the 24 domes slide out on metal tracks to shade a…"
Martin Gray reviewed Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The prayer space is built on a five-meter grid. Its arcade is roofed with square coffers decorated with plaster molding. The columns are clad with marble panels, whereas the arches are covered with artificial stone and plaster moldings. Along the axis li…"
- 03 Sep 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Delphi in Central Greece, Greece
Nestled in the forests of sacred Mt. Parnassus are the ruins of Delphi, the supreme oracle site of the ancient Mediterranean. Archaic legends mention a holy place of the earth goddess Gaia, whose shrine was guarded by her daughter, the serpent Python. K…"
- 30 May 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Temple of the Inscriptions in Mexico
Vast, mysterious and enchanting, the ruined city of Palenque is considered to be the most beautifully conceived of the Mayan city-states and one of the loveliest archaeological sites in the world. Its geographic setting is splendid beyond words. Nestled…"
- 27 Mar 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria
Located in the heart of the teeming city of Damascus, the Great Mosque is known to be the oldest existing monumental architecture in the Islamic world. For millennia before the birth of Islam however, the city of Damascus was a sacred site of other cultu…"
- 10 Jan 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Mosque of Jam Karan in Qom, Iran
Besides the highly visited shrines of the Imams, there are two other categories of Islamic pilgrimage sites in Iran. These are imamzadihs, or the tombs of descendants, relatives and close friends of the twelve Imams; and the mausoleums of revered Sufi sa…"
Martin Gray reviewed Imam Reza in Mashhad, Iran
The existence of pilgrimage places, other than the Ka’ba in Mecca, is a controversial subject in Islam. Orthodox Sunni Muslims, following Muhammad’s revelations in the Koran, state that there can be no pilgrimage site other than Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Th…"
Martin Gray reviewed Konya and the Shrine of Rumi in Konya, Turkey
Occupied for nearly 4000 years, the city of Konya is famous for the shrine of the Sufi poet Rumi. Born in 1207 in Khurasan (contemporary Afghanistan), Jalal al-Din Rumi was the son of an Islamic scholar. At the age of 12 he and his family made a pilgrima…"
Martin Gray reviewed Mt. Ararat in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey
Mt. Ararat, the traditional landing place of Noah’s Ark, is located in eastern Turkey near the Armenian and Iranian borders. The summit of Ararat is 16,946 feet (5,165 meters) above sea level. Also called Agri Dagi, Ararat is a dormant volcano and its la…"
- 09 Jan 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Mecca in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The center of the Islamic world and the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad, Mecca is located in the mountains of central Saudi Arabia. According to legend, when Adam and Eve fell to earth from Paradise, they wandered separately for two hundred years, until G…"
Martin Gray reviewed Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel
This chapel marks the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion at Golgotha, or Calvary, and of his burial and resurrection. There is archaeological evidence that Golgatha was once a place of pagan sanctity and it is traditionally claimed that the skull of …"
Martin Gray reviewed Quarantal and the Holy Grotto of the Temptation of Chri in Jerusalem, Israel
Thirty-six miles to the east of Jerusalem stands the ancient city of Jericho. A few miles northwest of Jericho, the Mount of Temptation is the traditional scene of the temptation of Christ. The Gospel of John omits the story but the other gospels (Mark 1…"
Martin Gray reviewed Bethlehem in Jerusalem, Israel
South of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is considered the birth place of Jesus according to the Gospels of Mathew and Luke. Various New Testament scholars believe parts of these gospels to be later accretions and assert that Jesus was actually born in Nazareth, hi…"
Martin Gray reviewed Jebel Haroun in West Morocco, Morocco
The Prophet Aaron was the elder brother of the Prophet Moses and Miriam, and the descendant of the Prophet Abraham through his grandson Jacob. While Moses was both a messenger and a prophet, Aaron was a prophet only. He shared with his brother in mission…"
Martin Gray reviewed Aphrodisias in Denizli, Turkey
Located in the rolling hills of southeastern Turkey, the lovely ruins of Aphrodisias contain what was once the preeminent temple of the goddess Aphrodite in Asia Minor. Yet long before the Greek sanctuary of Aphrodite was constructed in the 1st century B…"
- 08 Jan 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Haleakala Crater in Hawaii, United States
Haleakala is the name of the crater that forms the summit of East Maui Volcano. Maui, one of the younger islands in Hawaiian chain, began as two separate volcanoes on the ocean floor about 2.0 million years ago. Over geologic ages the volcanoes erupted, …"
Martin Gray reviewed Mauna Kea in Hawaii, United States
Mauna Kea, at 13,796 feet, is the tallest mountain in Hawaii and all of the Pacific Ocean. If measured from its base at the ocean’s floor, 16,000 feet down, it is the tallest in the world. Due to its great weight it has also subsided an estimated 35,000 …"
Martin Gray reviewed Sacred Kachina peak and the Red Rocks of Sedona in Southwest Desert, United States
Situated in northern Arizona at an elevation of 4500 feet, the famous Red Rocks of Sedona are one of the most beautiful natural sites in the United States. Part of the eroding Mogollon Rim of the vast Colorado plateau, Sedona’s canyon walls show nine lay…"
Martin Gray reviewed White Sands in Southwest Desert, United States
Situated in south-central New Mexico, west of Alamogordo, are the world's largest dune fields of gypsum sand. The brilliant white sand dunes cover an area of nearly 230 square miles and many dunes rise to 60 feet. True sand dunes, as contrasted to beach …"
Martin Gray reviewed Shiprock in Southwest Desert, United States
Known today most commonly by the name Shiprock, the 1700 foot tall eroded volcanic plume is sacred to the Navaho Indians as Tse Bi dahi, or the Rock with Wings. This name comes from an ancient folk myth that tells how the rock was once a great bird which…"
Martin Gray reviewed San Juan de los Lagos in Mexico
Located in central Mexico, northeast of the city of Guadalajara, the small town of San Juan de los Lagos is the second most visited pilgrimage shrine in Mexico. Founded by Fray Miguel of Bologna, the town was first called San Juan Mezquititlán Baptist bu…"
Martin Gray reviewed Church of Chalma in Mexico
Near the city of Cuernavaca is situated the pre-Columbian sacred site of Chalma. Its early history shrouded in myth, Chalma was long visited by pilgrims making offerings to a statue of Ozteotl, the Dark Lord of the Cave. Pilgrims would walk for days thro…"
Martin Gray reviewed The Monastery of Izamal in Mexico
East of Merida, the capital of Yucatan, is the colonial town of Izamal. In the center of town stands the Monastery of Izamal, containing one of the most venerated Marian statues in all of Mexico. To this statue are attributed thousands of miracles of hea…"
Martin Gray reviewed Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico
The basilica of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe is the most visited pilgrimage site in the Western Hemisphere. Located on the hill of Tepeyac, and sacred site long before the arrival of Christianity, it had a temple dedicated to Tonantzin, the ‘Mother of the…"
Martin Gray reviewed Toltec Sanctuary of Tollán in Mexico
The Toltec civilization developed in central Mexico and by 1050 their city of Tollán had become the capital of a large empire. Mentioned in indigenous documents and post-Conquest sources, Tollán was said to be on the hill of Tzatzitepetl, but the ruins w…"
Martin Gray reviewed Mitla in Mexico
Near the city of Oaxaca, the ruins of Mitla are one of Mexico's most fascinating and enigmatic sacred places. Archaeological excavations indicate that the site was occupied from as early as 900 BC. Mitla's visible structural remains however, date from be…"
Martin Gray reviewed Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Mexico
High above the city of Oaxaca, the ruins of Monte Alban are the second largest ceremonial site in Mesoamerica, exceeded in size only by Teotihuacan. The first known buildings were constructed around 1000 BC but most of these are now buried beneath later …"
Martin Gray reviewed Mt. Iztaccihuatl and Mt. Popocatepetl in Mexico
Southeast of Mexico City stand the two great sacred mountains of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, Popocatepetl means 'Smoking Mountain' and the 17,833 foot volcano, while currently dormant, does frequently emit large…"
- 07 Jan 2008
Martin Gray reviewed Las Lajas Cathedral in Andean, Colombia
In the remote mountains of southwestern Columbia, Las Lajas is one of the most enchantingly beautiful pilgrimage shrines in all the world. A scene of fairy tale splendor, the cathedral clings to the sides of a cliff above a swiftly running river in a mou…"
Martin Gray reviewed El Cisne Shrine in Ecuador
Forty miles from the city of Loja in the mountains of southern Ecuador is the town of El Cisne, the site of a much venerated Marian shrine. The basilica of El Cisne was built in 1742 and modeled after a similar basilica in Harlungenberg, Germany. In 1594…"
Martin Gray reviewed The Church at Qoyllur Rit’i and Mt. Ausungate in Machu Picchu region, Peru
The veneration of high mountains is of great antiquity in the Andes, where certain peaks were considered to be the abodes of deities which controlled the weather and the productivity of crops. Archaeological excavations have revealed more than 50 ceremon…"
Martin Gray reviewed Copacabana and the Basilica of the Virgen de la Candela in Peru
On the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, the town of Copacabana is widely known for its Christian pilgrimage shrine, the Virgen de la Candelaria, also called the Dark Virgin. Before the Christian use of the site there was an Inca Temple of the Sun, from w…"
Martin Gray reviewed Tiahuanaco in Bolivia
Once on the coast of sacred Lake Titicaca, but now twelve miles inland, the enigmatic site of Tiahuanaco was the source of the creation myths, the social orders, and the sophisticated preoccupation with astronomy that informed thousands of years of Andea…"
Martin Gray reviewed The Holy Mountains of Ancohuma and Illampu in Bolivia
Soaring majestically above Lake Titicaca and often cloaked by ethereal mists, are the sacred mountains of Ancohuma (20,957 feet) and Illampu (20,867). Archaeological remains found on the summit of dozens of mountains throughout Peru and Bolivia reveal th…"
Martin Gray reviewed Dogon Binu shrines in Mali
Scattered across the cliffs of the Bandiagara region of Mali are hundreds of small Dogon villages. The origins of the Dogon are lost in the mists of time and their earlier name, Habe, means stranger or pagan. Scholars believe the tribe to be of ancient E…"
Martin Gray reviewed The Mosque of Djenné in Mali
The oldest known city in sub-Saharan Africa, Djenné is 220 miles southwest of Timbuktu. Founded by merchants around 800 AD, near the site of an older city dating from 250 BC, Djenné flourished as a trading center between the deserts of Sudan and the trop…"
Martin Gray reviewed Churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia
During the 11th to 13th centuries the Ethiopian state manifested as the Christian Zagwe dynasty and the most notable of its rulers was King Lalibela in the 12th century. Legends tell that Lalibela had a three-day visionary experience during which he rece…"
Martin Gray reviewed Church of St. Mary of Zion in Ethiopia
Ancient legends in Ethiopia (also called Abyssinia) describe the area of Axum as a swamp inhabited by evil spirits. God helped the local people by coming down to the nearby sacred hill of Makade Egzi to spread a miraculous dust from heaven which dried up…"
Martin Gray reviewed The Great Mosque of Kairouan in Kairouan, Tunisia
Historical records relate that in 670 AD the Arab conqueror, Uqba ibn Nafi crossed the deserts of Egypt and began the first Muslim conquest of the Maghreb region of North Africa. Establishing military posts at regular intervals along his route; Uqba ibn …"
Martin Gray reviewed Mount Sinai in Egypt
Mt. Sinai, also called Mt. Horeb and Jebel Musa, the ‘Mountain of Moses’ is a much visited pilgrimage destination which includes the Monastery of St.Catherine, the Burning Bush and Elijah’s Plateau. Moses, the traditional founder of Judaism, was born in …"
Martin Gray reviewed Dendera's Temple of the Goddess Hathor in Qina, Egypt
Similar to other temple sites in Egypt, Dendera marks the location of a very old holy place. An indication of the antiquity of the site is given by the astronomical alignment of the main temple to Gamma Draconis before 5000BC. Early texts refer to a Pre-…"
Martin Gray reviewed Temple of Luxor in Luxor, Egypt
Built upon the site of a Middle Kingdom sanctuary, the temple of Luxor was constructed by the 18th and 19th Dynasty pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramses II during the 2nd millennium BC. The enormous and asymmetric complex was built in stages upon three sepa…"
Martin Gray reviewed The Sphinx in Cairo, Egypt
The largest monumental sculpture in the ancient world, the Sphinx is carved from a ridge of stone 240 feet long and 66 feet high. Antiquarians previously assumed the Sphinx was constructed in the 4th Dynasty by the Pharaoh Chephren (Khafre), yet recent a…"