The idea behind pilgrimages is a simple one: certain places are more spiritually powerful than others, and people benefit from going to them. The power of the place may be centered in a physical structure (such as the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or Hagia Sophia in Istanbul), or the site may have attracted attention because a miracle happened there (anywhere that has a miracle-working icon qualifies, as the recent occurrence of myrrh-streaming icons in Hawaii demonstrates).
