But even while in-person access was shut off, Michelangelo’s breathtaking frescoes could be experienced through a virtual tour on the Vatican’s website. The Sistine Chapel reopened to the public in early 2021 after closing the previous November due to the pandemic. “The intention was to give you a feel of what you will experience on the ground,” he said, “but it’s definitely not a replacement to the actual experience.” But he cautioned that he’s not trying to substitute the hajj, which is one of the pillars of Islam. “There’s a young generation which is glued to the mobiles, and I wanted to reach that generation and introduce Islam using technology.”įares said he has been pleasantly surprised by the positive response from people across the world. The latest version can be explored through Google Cardboard, a low-cost cardboard attachment that turns smartphones into virtual reality viewers.
“In less than a month, we had more than 20,000 users from the Middle East and the rest of the world,” said Fares, whose company is based in Cairo.įares calls Experience Makkah a “digital good deed” with a particular focus on young people. “We believe that virtual reality is, if you like, the new internet, the new way for people not to watch things passively on the screen and just to click on photos and videos, but to actually teleport themselves," said Nimrod Shanit, CEO of HCXR and Blimey, the producers of The Holy City, an immersive VR experience that allows people to visit Jerusalem’s holiest sites. Such experiences are among the many evolving spaces in the metaverse, an immersive virtual world where people can connect via avatars, that have grown in popularity during the pandemic.
Worshippers, tourists and visitors from around the world are increasingly joining virtual reality religious activities and pilgrimages to some of Earth’s most sacred sites. You can even light a virtual candle at the site where Christians believe Jesus rose from the grave. There you’ll hear the murmur of Jewish prayers at the Western Wall or thousands of worshippers saying amen in unison at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Or strap on a headset and enter the holy city of Jerusalem.
Click again and join thousands of pilgrims praying and circling around the cube-shaped Kaaba at Islam’s most sacred site. Click and gape at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling up close.
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