101 Things to Do Before You Die: Religious Artefacts by The TI Review Team
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See the Ummayad Mosque by Mark Hudson
Damascus, Syria. Built by Byzantine masons with the stones of a vast Roman temple - the antique, Islamic and medieval Christian worlds incorporated in one breathtaking building.
Visit the Most Sublime of All Islamic Cities by Jeremy Seal
Isfahan, Iran. The most sublime of all Islamic cities, Isfahan's mosques, palaces, squares and bridges are far more impressive even than those of fabled Samarkand in Uzbekistan. The Orient of our dreams often seems an illusion, but it comes close in Isfahan.
Visit the Saint Chapelle by Sean Thomas
Visit the Saint Chapelle in Paris. Hidden away on the Ile de la Cite, this beautiful church was built in the Middle Ages as a reliquary to house the crown of thorns. More glass than wall, its extraordinary multicoloured windows give the visitor the notion he or she is inside some huge, translucent jewel box.
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Visit Santa Maria dei Miracoli by Lee Marshall
Stumble on the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venice, when you're lost and least expecting it.
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Visit Ibn Tulun Mosque by Philip Marsden
Egypt: Visit Ibn Tulun mosque, Cairo. If you go to Cairo only for the Pyramids you will miss what is probably the greatest range of Islamic sacred architecture anywhere on earth. Whereas the pyramids are dead monuments, the city's mosques are still used for worship. Of these, the most impressive is the ninth century mosque of Ibn Tulun, whose vast courtyard was designed to fit the entire army of Ibn Tulun inside it for prayers.
See Haroeris, the Solar Disc by Tom Brosnahan
From a riverboat, see the ancient temples along the Nile illuminated by Haroeris, the solar disc, when it glides westward to sink into the Sahara, as a tall Nubian crewman in a flowing gallabiya serves tea.
Walk Through Cornfields in Tuscany by Catherine Fairweather
Italy, Tuscany: Walk through cornfields and olive groves studded with poppies in May to Sant Antimo, 10km south of Montalcino in Tuscany. Announced by a long line of cypresses this is a perfect Romanesque church, part of a 9th century Benedictine monastery founded by Charlemagne. Go in the late afternoon in time to listen to the Gregorian chant of the monks who still live there.
See Bucovina's Painted Monasteries by Phillip Sen
In the historic heartland of what used to be Moldavia they take their religion seriously. Both inside and outside, every inch of Bucovina's mediaeval monasteries is covered with elaborate frescoes, intricate gold-plated designs and solemn yet serene iconography. Black-clad Orthodox monks and nuns still flit among the courtyards and sound their eerie calls to prayer, refugees from an era the rest of Europe has all but forgotten.
Visit Skellig Michael by Anthony Toole
A 217-metre-high rock rising from the Atlantic eight miles from the Irish coast, and crowned by the remains of a sixth-century monastery. In his television series, Kenneth Clark claimed that this was where Civilization survived during the Dark Ages.
Watch Sunset over the Irrawaddy by Rory MacLean
Return to ruins of Pagan. Aung San Suu Kyi has asked tourists not to visit Burma until her country is again a democracy. When that day comes, I will revisit the most remarkable religious city in the world, climb the twelfth century Thatbyinnyu temple and watch the sunset over the Irrawaddy.
Like this article? Check out 101 Things to Do Before You Die: Spiritual Discovery