Borobudur is a giant Buddhist monument located in central Java, Indonesia. Built over 1,200 years it is in essence a vast stupa, decorated with over 2,000 bas relief panels and 500 individual statues of the Buddha. Long after Islam had replaced Buddhism as the major religion in the Indonesian archipelago, locals still revered the place… [Read more…]
November 25, 2008
Beautiful symmetry and ornate carvings grace the ceilings of the Jain Adinatha Temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan. See this ceiling in greater detail.
November 22, 2008
The Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, India, is the supreme shrine in Sikhism. Kept within the temple is the Sikh Holy Scripture. In 1984, the temple complex was the site of a bloody battle between Indian soldiers and Sikh militants hiding inside. The desecration of the shrine and the deaths of many civilians… [Read more…]
November 12, 2008
One of the many erotic murals that adorn the walls of the Khajuraho temples. Madhya Pradesh, India.
November 12, 2008
The view northward from atop the south-west minaret of Delhi’s cavernous Jama Masjid, or Friday Mosque. Only from an elevated position can one truly appreciate how hazy and polluted the atmosphere above Delhi is. The mosque itself is one of the great monuments to Mughal architecture, commissioned by emperor Shah Jahan.
November 12, 2008
Standing at one of the entrances to a Jain temple, Jaisalmer. Rajasthan, India.
November 9, 2008
Designed by Fariborz Sahba and completed in 1986, it is the largest Baha’i house of worship in the world and a stunning work of modern architecture. Delhi, India.
November 9, 2008
The monumental east gate of the Jama Masjid or Friday Mosque at the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri. Once the capital of Mughal emperor Akbar, the city was abandoned not long after it was built, probably due to lack of water. Uttar Pradesh, India.
November 9, 2008
The sensuous curves of one of the many such sculptures in the Khajuraho temple complex. Madhya Pradesh, India.
November 9, 2008
Women and children gather at the tomb of the 13th century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in south Delhi, India. The tomb is a popular place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Muslims, an increasingly unusual example of inter-faith harmony in these times. Most evenings, pilgrims gather to listen to qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional… [Read more…]
November 9, 2008
Impressive sculptures adorn the interior of one of the temples in the Khajuraho complex, famous for their erotic sculptures. Madhya Pradesh, India.
November 6, 2008
Sikh devotees gather around the sacred pool surrounding the Golden Temple during Baisakhi celebrations. Amritsar, India.
November 6, 2008
One of the beautifully ornate ceilings of the Jain Adinatha Temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan.
November 3, 2008
Hindu devotees cover themselves in ashes as a sign of humilty and acknowledgement of their own mortality. This gentleman was sitting quietly atop one of Varanasi’s many ghats when I met him. Beside him is his copper pot with which he collects the sacred Ganges water as part of his prayer rituals.
November 3, 2008
Young boys at a madrasah, or Muslim school, get ready for dinner. Delhi, India. Muslims make up a substantial minority (over 100 million) in India. But recent politics, the partition of 1947 along religious grounds and a resurgent Hindu nationalism which seems Islam as little more than a foreign invasion threatens to upset the friendly… [Read more…]
August 5, 2009
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