Demak, Indonesia There are few places in the world where Islam blended quite so exotically with local people and culture as in Indonesia. This mix is represented by Australasia’s early Muslim architecture. The Masjid Agung Demak, the oldest continually active mosque on the island of Java, is one of the best representative structures of early Islam in Australasia. It is also … [Read more...]
NEGRI MOSQUE (MASJID NEGRI)
Kota Bahru, Malaysia For many years, India remained the easternmost frontier of the western religions, beyond which the Abrahamite faiths did not spread until the very late Middle Ages. When Islam finally reached the Far East, it took root first on the Malay Peninsula, the most distant corner of the Asian continent. The first major Muslim settlement at Kota Bahru became a … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF THE BLACK NAZARENE
Manila, Philippines When it comes to Catholic Icon Shrines, few countries top the Philippines. With nearly two dozen designated shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary alone, the Philippines boasts the most home-grown Icon sites of any nation outside of Europe. Half of these are considered major shrines, where miraculous events are said to have occurred, the highest number for … [Read more...]
WORLD’S LARGEST PERMANENT MENORAH
Manado, Indonesia When one imagines the world’s largest, permanent free-standing Menorah, naturally one thinks of… Indonesia? That’s right. The biggest permanent Menorah in existence is not in Israel, America or Europe; it is, in fact, located in the world’s most populous Muslim country. The city of Manado, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, is home to a number of … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF SANTO NINO
Cebu City, Philippines Cebu City is the Pacific Rim’s equivalent to Santo Domingo in the Caribbean. Christianity was established here early in the 16th century by Spanish explorers and missionaries, and it was from here that the Catholic Church eventually spread throughout the Philippine Islands, and later into much of the rest of the South Pacific. The Philippines went on … [Read more...]
