I found the reading “The Sacred and The Profane” by Mircea Eliade, very interesting, especailly the meaning of the center of the world. This was almost all new information to me, so I tried to read the material thoroughly in order to understand it better.
In many cases the mountain is considered the center of the world since it is high, closer to the “divine” and it is thought of as connection between heaven and earth. As stated in the reading, the word use for this connection between earth and heaven is axis mundi. For example, according to Islamic tradition, the highest among place on earth is the ka aba. This belief is expressed by the following statement: “our world is holy ground because it is th eplace nearest to heaven, because from here, from our abode, it is possible to reach heaven; hence our world is a high place.”
From the rading, it is clear to me know how and why people in past chose the space where to build temples and churches. Where they build the temple or the church symbolized to them the center of the world. A place where they would be closer to God and their prayers would be heard.