Sana’a, Yemen Yemen is something of a conundrum in the Islamic world. Geographically the closest country by land to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, it was the first place outside of what is now Saudi Arabia where Islam was introduced. It then spent well over a thousand years as little more than a forgotten corner of the Muslim world. Thanks to its strangely ironic … [Read more...]
KHAST IMAM MOSQUE (MASJID KHAST IMAM)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan Generally speaking, the most revered artifacts of Islam that have survived the centuries have been preserved in places that make geographical sense: Mecca, Cairo, Istanbul and so forth. So it is unusual that the Uthman Qur’an, believed to be the oldest known copy of the Qur’an and which according to tradition was once in the possession of Uthman, Ali or … [Read more...]
TOPKAPI PALACE
Istanbul, Turkey The Islamic world has a long tradition of honoring its famous dead, and many mosques have at their heart a mausoleum or tomb containing the relics of important Muslims, religious, political, literary or otherwise. What is not common in the Islamic world is the preservation of important religious objects, with at least one major exception: The Sacred Trusts, … [Read more...]
AL-OMARI MOSQUE (MASJID AL-OMARI)
Beirut, Lebanon There are few places in the world which have changed hands between Christians and Muslims quite so often as the old Phoenician Coast in the Eastern Mediterranean. As a result there are few places in the world where Christian and Muslim coexistence, peaceful or not, has lasted quite so long. The enduring architectural symbol of this coexistence, if there is … [Read more...]
ISRAEL MUSEUM
Jerusalem, Israel The Israel Museum is the national museum of the State of Israel and possibly the world’s greatest religious museum. A sprawling world-class complex, no other museum in Israel, or perhaps in the entire Middle East (with the possible exception of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) boasts so large or diverse a collection. Designed to capture the immense, … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Turin, Italy Of the countless ‘genuine’ Christian artifacts hauled back to Europe throughout history, none are quite as popular as the cloth known as the Shroud of Turin. Believed to be the linen in which Christ’s body was wrapped at the time of his burial, it bears the image of a man who suffered death by crucifixion, but as a photo-negative image. This artistic feat, … [Read more...]
GLASTONBURY TOR
Glastonbury, England The strange, quasi-stepped hill that dominates the Salisbury plain has been a magnet for prophets and mystics since antiquity. According to local tradition, Joseph of Arimathea stumbled upon the place after his long journey from Judea, and selected it as the central location for his Christian missionary work in Briton. From the ruins of Glastonbury … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
Paris, France The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is one of the most storied and famous cathedrals in history. This is due in no small part to the literary achievements of Victor Hugo, who immortalized the edifice in his book The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Because of this, and because of its location in the heart of Paris, millions of tourists flock to Notre Dame every … [Read more...]
SANTO TORIBIO DE LIEBANA MONASTERY
Cantabria, Spain The Santo Toribia De Liebana Monastery, tucked quietly away in a northern corner of Spain, has long harbored one of Christianity’s most coveted artifacts: the largest extent piece of the True Cross that Jesus was crucified upon. Although critics have expressed pessimism at the authenticity of the True Cross as early as the 4th century AD, there is little … [Read more...]
