Sacred Spaces

Draw more

Churches, temples and monasteries from many faiths, photographed in soft dawn, dusk or window light. Stained glass scatters color across the nave of a Gothic cathedral, prayer flags surround a monastery on a Himalayan cliff, and oil lamps line the cloister of the Brihadeeswarar temple. The ornate Ottobeuren Basilica glows with natural light, and the tiered towers of Pura Besakih stand beneath Mount Agung.

The interior of the Ottobeuren Basilica in Bavaria, featuring ornate white stucco, gilded altars, and painted domes illuminated by natural light from high windows.

A polished wooden corridor of a traditional Japanese temple overlooks a garden filled with vibrant autumn maple trees.

The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral stands within its fortified walls at dawn, surrounded by mist in a lush river valley with mountains in the background.

The Pura Besakih temple complex features tiered black-thatched meru towers and stone split gates set against the backdrop of Mount Agung under a cloudy sky.

A wooden torii gate stands at the edge of a misty pond in Kamikōchi, with a small boat floating nearby and the Hotaka mountain range visible in the background under soft dawn light.

A Buddhist monastery perched on a rocky Himalayan cliffside at dawn, surrounded by prayer flags with a sea of clouds in the valley below.

A stone convent sits atop a rocky cliff overlooking a dense sea of clouds at sunrise, with dark pine trees covering the slopes below.

A low-angle view looking directly up at the intricate, symmetrical blue tile dome of a Persian mosque, featuring complex geometric patterns and Arabic calligraphy.

A stone church with a conical dome stands in a foggy, autumn landscape, surrounded by ancient carved khachkars in wet grass, with a single warm light glowing from the open doorway.

A wide-angle view of the empty nave of a Gothic cathedral, featuring tall stone columns, vaulted ceilings, and colorful light patterns from stained glass windows cast onto the stone floor.

A peacock stands on a stone wall overlooking the stone monastery of Sveti Naum on Lake Ohrid, surrounded by cypress trees under a misty dawn sky.

The pillared cloister of the Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur at dusk, with oil lamps lit along the colonnade and the granite tower glowing orange against a violet sky.