May 20, 2014
Christianity is the first religion I decided to review, so what better place to look at then the San Marco basilica in Rome. This basilica was built for St. Mark, who's remains are actually buried underneath the building itself. San Marco is a cathedral, but has not always been so. It was also the seat of the Archbishop of Venice in 1807.
The architecture and building itself was stunning. The outside of the building itself is marvelous, but walking inside is a whole nother story. It is even more glorious inside and has paintings surrounding the entirety of it. The religious paintings on the wall seem to tell a story and you can not help but wonder what it all means. I walked around for what felt like ten minutes, but was actually forty minutes. Here are some pictures I found and took.
May 28, 2014
Hinduism was the next religion I decided to investigate. The one place I wanted to visit most was the Gangotri Char Dham located in India, so I went. The Gangotri Char Dham is dedicated to the goddess Ganga who is known for being a river goddess, and as seeing how the Ganges River is very popular, they worshipped her. Gangotri is closed for six months, but is open May through November, so I feel lucky enough to just have seen it! Especially because it had just opened. The architecture does look older in a sense because it looks rustic and not as furnished, but still captures the meaning of Hinduism itself as you can see the culture through it. Here are some pictures!
June 8, 2014
The third religion I went and discovered was Buddhism. The religious site I went to visit here was the Yumbulagang Palace in Tibet. This palace was supposedly built for the first Tibetan King, then was turned into a monastery, then it became heavily damaged, but they reconstructed it in 1983. The palace has a front that is a three story tall building and the back is dominated by a tall tower, which sort of represents a castle in a sense. While I was standing outside of the building, I could not help but notice just how tall it was, but it had an old feeling to it, but felt clean at the same time.
June 19, 2014
My fourth religion investigated was Islam. The sacred building I visited while there was the Al - Aqsa Mosque. A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, but this is notably one of the most rooted and is one of the most popular in Islamic history. This mosque is also referred to as the Noble Sanctuary and is the third holiest site in Islam. This mosque is located in Jerusalem. Apparently, it was at this mosque that Prophet Muhammad had ascended to the sky for his al - Miraj Journey and at the center of the mosque is the Dome of the rock, where many believe may be the spot where the Prophet ascended to heaven.
The architecture is very beautiful, although it may seem plain. The architecture is nicely done and the building as a whole does look older. It is small, but the inside is actually quite large, which I was able to find out as I walked through it.
June 29, 2014
The last religion I decided to go over was Judaism. The building that most well represent the religion as a whole, to me, was the Hurva Synagogue, located in they Old City of Jerusalem. The land has been bought by a man who was highly influential and a great leader, but had died only five days after being in Jerusalem and his 'followers' tried to finish for his sake, but it was not completed. At the time, it was the only synagogue in Jerusalem. This building is actually the tallest Holy Ark in the world, so walking through it was quite the experience. When I stood on the 360 degree veranda, I was able to see all of Jerusalem and it was glorious. I hope to visit this spot again most of all!
Credits:
Created with images by terimakasih0 - "temple high vietnam" • tpsdave - "florence italy san marco" • Mariamichelle - "venice cathedral italy" • DEZALB - "venice basilica san marco mosaic" • erocka - "IMG_1720" • So_P - "Le monastère" • So_P - "Yongbulakang" • So_P - "Fenêtres modernes et motifs tibétains" • So_P - "maison tibétaine à Yongbulakang" • Jorge Lascar - "Section of the façade of Al-Aqsa Mosque" • Jorge Lascar - "Al-Aqsa Mosque" • Jean & Nathalie - "Jerusalem: Al-Aqsa Mosque" • Mary P Madigan - "Al Aqsa Mosque" • upyernoz - "Hurva Synagogue" • rictulio - "P1120385" • Emmanuel Dyan - "Hurva Synagogue, Jerusalem - Israël" • rictulio - "P1120383"