Monasteries

This ancient monastery complex was transformed from an island to a peninsula when the lake was partially drained.

This 15th-century cave complex is one of the very few monasteries to stay open throughout World War II and the Soviet regime.

The historic site where Queen Elizabeth I once gave a searing speech.

Climbing to the top of the cathedral's bell tower offers sweeping views of these medieval ruins.

Legend has it the famous Robin Hood would attend mass at this 12th-century Cistercian abbey in Sherwood Forrest.

What was once England's second-richest abbey is now a haunting ruin.

Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.

Mexico's largest collection of masks is found in the ruins of an abandoned convent.

A lonely medieval monastery on an uninhabited island.

Deceased nuns were placed on stone chairs to decompose, while the surviving nuns prayed near the lifeless bodies.

These medieval monastery ruins are surprisingly overlooked by most tourists.

An ancient sanctuary that has long been a holy site for the Chaldean Christian Church.

A fairytale island floats in the middle of Italy's little-known Lake Orta.

This picturesque medieval monastery guards a small trove of historic treasures.

This wooded grove of beautiful hand-built stone grottos is a hidden gem within a shuttered Franciscan monastery.