Religion

Perhaps the biggest draw to this mosque in Sierra Leone is its remote location and lack of tourists.

This enormous statue of the Buddha is a response to the destruction of the Bamiyan statues in Afghanistan.

An asymmetrically spiraling tower perched on top of a protected mountain.

A unique, playful portrayal of Jesus as a backpacking traveler.

On a hill in Regent sits the oldest stone church in Sierra Leone.

This medieval synagogue survived the Inquisition as a hospital and church.

The last remaining Shaker community still practices a uniquely communal and utopian version of Christianity.

In 1421, a drowning man prayed for his life and promised to build a chapel where he would wash ashore.

An early Christian basilica modeled after an Egyptian temple showcases some the best-preserved frescos from late antiquity.

A coastal French town said to have been visited by Jesus' disciples is a major pilgrimage center for Catholic Romanis.

The 6th-century saint is often invoked for tooth pain and young children who experience problems walking.

A grand Buddhist temple with Indian influences.

A Victorian synagogue-turned-museum chronicles centuries of Jewish life.

Mexico’s first synagogue set up by and for the Ashkenazi Jewish community.

For two decades in the 13th century, the papacy operated from this palace in central Italy, which served as the site of the first—and longest—papal election conclave in history.