Sacred Spaces

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

Seventeen members of the local royal family are interred in this Baroque church in northern Germany.

This church houses the “incorrupt” body of its founding Bishop.

The religious shrine that Pablo Escobar's men would allegedly visit before completing a mission.

There are many Byzantine-era churches still standing in Athens, but this is the only one with a 2,500-year-old column rising through its roof.

A glittering Thai Buddhist temple in suburban Pennsylvania.

More than 300 years ago, a revolt at this Hopi pueblo shaped the future of the American Southwest.

This small 16th-century church in Athens is almost entirely surrounded by a modern building.

A surprising and unconventional mosque hidden in the subsoil of Istanbul.

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

The building stands within a quiet, postcard-perfect New Mexico village.

Now abandoned, this stone church was part of the missionary efforts that initiated the Christianization of Zambia.

A spiritual sanctuary in a natural cave.

Instead of numerals, the unusual clock face spells out a memorial to a lost loved one.

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

A familiar otherworldly creature guards this 12th-century Scottish abbey.

This sacred fig tree with a link to the Buddha is one of the oldest human-planted trees in the world.