Egeria · 384 · overland

The Itinerarium Egeriae, the diary of a Christian woman from the far west of the Roman Empire who, around 381 to 384, made an extraordinary pilgrimage to the holy places of the East. Egeria crossed Europe to Constantinople, settled for years in Jerusalem, and ranged from Mount Sinai to Mesopotamia, recording all she saw in a letter home to her sisters. It is the earliest surviving account of a Christian pilgrimage, and among the first travel books by a woman. The route spans the late-antique world from Spain to the Euphrates.

1. 1
   Gallaecia

   Egeria, a woman of rank and boundless curiosity, likely from Galicia at the western edge of the empire, sets out on the long road east to see the lands of the Bible.

2. 2
   Constantinople

   Crossing Gaul, Italy, and the Balkans, she reaches the great Christian capital of Constantinople, her base for the journeys to come.

3. 3
   Jerusalem

   In Jerusalem she settles for some three years, worshipping at the holy places and recording in loving detail the liturgies of the growing Church.

4. 4
   Mount Sinai

   She journeys into the desert to climb Mount Sinai, the mountain of Moses, praying at the summit and at the site of the burning bush.

5. 5
   Mount Nebo

   She travels to Mount Nebo, the height from which Moses was granted a distant sight of the Promised Land he would never enter.

6. 6
   Edessa

   Turning homeward, she makes a long detour across the Euphrates into Mesopotamia, to Edessa and the shrine of the Apostle Thomas.

7. 7
   Seleucia

   On her way back through Asia Minor she stops at the shrine of Saint Thecla near Seleucia, beloved of women, and visits her friend the deaconess Marthana.

8. 8
   Constantinople

   She returns at last to Constantinople, and there sets down for her sisters at home the account of all the holy places she has seen.