Pilgrimages. Popular Christian pilgrimage sites outside Europe included the tomb of Thomas the Apostle in India, the column of Symeon the Stylite in northern Syria, the basilica of Thessaloniki, site of miracles of the martyr Demetrius, and the original tomb of Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors and travelers, in Asia Minor. Nevertheless, the shrines of Jerusalem, which commemorate the days of Jesus Christ's life, were the most important. Jerusalem also houses sites of religious importance to Islam, such as the rock from which Muslims believe Muhammed ascended into heaven. The Dome of the Rock, which covers the site in Jerusalem, is one of Islam's holiest shrines today. In Jerusalem medieval pilgrims of both faiths could strengthen their beliefs without the intermediary of textual accounts. The different Christian and Islamic religious groups of the medieval...