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Ogland, Kazakhstan
Beket Ata Underground Mosque
This 18th-century underground mosque carved into desert rock may have doubled as an astronomical observatory.
From the CommunityPlaces of Worship
These sacred spaces span cultures, continents, and time. Some have led many lives, meaning different things to different people at various times. Many are old. Some are brand new. All of them serve as a space to acknowledge a higher power.
Tuineje, Spain
Ermita Protestante de Violante
A German widower built this 2.5-meter chapel on a Fuerteventura hilltop in 2011; inside, strangers leave wishes in a book.
From the Community
Yucatán, Mexico
Convento de San Antonio da Padua
The world's second-largest atrium was built in six months by 6,000 Maya workers—using stones from their own demolished pyramid.
From the Community
Baku, Azerbaijan
Juma Mosque
This mosque spent Soviet rule as a carpet museum, its prayer hall draped in rugs rather than reverence for seven decades.
From the Community
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Haji Yaqub Mosque
Built for a mystic who mastered the art of disappearing.
From the Community
Monteroni di Lecce, Italy
Chiesa dei Santi Medici Cosma e Damiano
A church honoring twin doctors so committed to free healthcare that a talking camel had to intervene in their burial dispute.
From the Community
Uayma, Mexico
Santo Domingo de Guzmán Church
Built from stones of dismantled Maya temples, this church took priests over 100 years to convince locals to enter.
From the Community
Shiraz, Iran
Nasir al-Mulk Mosque
This mosque's expensive gamble turns morning prayers into a daily light show.
From the Community
Tabriz, Iran
Imam Khomeini Mosalla
Tabriz's forever-unfinished prayer hall has been accused of undermining its ancient neighbor.
From the Community
Paris, France
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre
Sacré-Cœur's travertine stone self-cleans with every rainstorm, releasing calcite that recoats the basilica white.
From the Community
Karkala, India
St. Lawrence Minor Basilica
A basilica in Karnataka that looks like a Disney castle, built on the spot where a wooden statue of St. Lawrence refused to be carried further.
From the Community
Jaipur, India
Monkey Temple
This temple honors the elephant god but houses hundreds of monkeys who commute to Jaipur daily to steal and pickpocket.
AWA visted here
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Agra, India
Itmad-ud-Daula
Nur Jahan built this marble tomb for her father in 1622. Shah Jahan studied it before designing the Taj Mahal.
AWA visted here
Agra, India
Mehtab Bagh
Built a century before the Taj, this garden turned to sand, then archaeologists dug for a mythical Black Taj that never existed.
AWA visted here
Echternach, Luxembourg
Abbey of Echternach
Each Whit Tuesday, Echternach revives its centuries-old dancing procession: a handkerchief-linked, brass-band swirl of faith and footwork that even Saint Willibrord would jump back in line for.
From the Community
Gran Canaria, Spain
Las Palmas Gospel Church
In the 1960s, South Korean fishermen settled on Spain’s Gran Canaria, creating the only Koreatown in Spain and a true island melting pot!
Basel, Switzerland
St. Johann Capelle
St. Johann Chapel in Basel, plain and modest beside the grand Minster, endures through centuries of shifting use—once a fruit storehouse, now a quiet space for small services.
From the Community
Cornwall, United Kingdom
Escalls Chapel
Escalls Chapel, a stone church near Land’s End, is now best known for its surfboard cross: a seaside landmark blending faith and beach culture.
From the Community
Skagen, Denmark
The Sand-Covered Church
Cresting above the dunes of Skagen’s beaches stands a strikingly white ruin of a church long gone.
AWA visted here
Presented with
McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Chapel of the Snows
The Chapel of the Snows is Antarctica’s southernmost interfaith church, offering reflection, community, and warmth at the coldest place on Earth.
From the Community
Florence, Italy
Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore
The most famous landmark of Florence, il Duomo still holds some secrets within its constrcution.
AWA visted here
Presented with
Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Svalbard Church
It is also always open, serving as a safe space to duck into if you happen to be chased by a polar bear.
Ha’apiti, French Polynesia
Église de la Sainte Famille
Before diving in to play Marco Polo with treacherous friends-with-fins, it’s not a bad idea to visit the Église and offer up a prayer.
Seoul, South Korea
Bongeunsa Temple
Entering feels like a gentle escape into an oasis with lanterns.
Seoul, South Korea
Suguksa Temple / Golden Temple
Humble prayers transformed a sanctuary into a radiant beacon of devotion.
AWA visted here
Wasso, Tanzania
Church in Wasso
A mint-green sanctuary in Wasso offers calm before the call of the wild in Tanzania’s nearby parks.
From the Community
Zermatt, Switzerland
Gornergrat Chapel
The only chapel where you can pray, pose, and pant from the climb.
From the Community
Apache Junction, Arizona, United States
Superstition Mountain/Lost Dutchman Museum
Graceland may preserve the life of The King, but AZ's Elvis Memorial Chapel memorializes his only dramatic film role!
From the Community
Aarhus, Denmark
Church of our Lady
One can visit for weekly mass, or, for the less ecclesiastically inclined, you could have a go at your own game of biblical bingo.
From the Community
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Basílica de María Auxiliadora y San Carlos
Sharing the spotlight with the Pope.
From the Community
Baja California Sur, Mexico
Roadside Shrine
Discover this colorful shrine that turns Baja California's highway into a heartfelt gallery of faith, art, and remembrance.
From the Community
