Tag Archives: religion

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

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close up photo of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Close up view of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem by Bill Hunter.

The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: مسجد قبة الصخرة‎ – Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah, Hebrew: כיפת הסלע‎ – Kipat Hasela) is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Foundation Stone, at its heart, bears great significance for Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The Dome of the Rock is situated in the center of the Temple Mount, the site of the Jewish Second Temple. The location is holy to Christians primarily because of the role the Temple played in the life of Jesus. The Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans, who built a temple to Jupiter on the site. During the Byzantine era, Jerusalem was primarily Christian, and pilgrims came by the tens of thousands to experience the places where Jesus walked.

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Assyrian Reliefs from the 9th Century BC

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photo of Assyrian relief carving of man with wings

The winged genie is shown holding a conical fruit which has presumably been dipped into a bucket of pollen held in preparation for fertilizing the Tree of Life, an important symbol in Assyrian religious belief.

I took these photos at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The reliefs are from interior walls of the palace of Ashurnasirpal II who reigned from 883 to 859 BC. He was the first Assyrian king to use carved reliefs on the interior walls of a palace at the site of Kalhu (now called Nimrud).

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Banyon Tree Overgrowing Temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia

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photo of banyan tree growing over temple entranceway

I can’t remember the temple name, I’ll add it once I have a chance to go through my photos and organize them. The temple is in the Angkor park area, which includes: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm (which is famous for the banyans growing over the temple) and many more.

Related: Banteay Srei Temple in Cambodia – Mesa Verde National Park, USA – Cypress Garden Swamp, South Carolina, USA

Candi Sewu, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

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photo of Candi Sewu entrance

Sewu temple is the second largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia, Borobudur is the largest. The Sewa temple is located in the Prambanan temple complex in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (about 1 km away from Prambanan temple). They are rebuilding many of the temples on the site which now lie in ruins.

Candi Sewu was likely built in the 8th century as the royal palace at the end of the Rakai Panangkaran kingdom.

Related: Buddha Statues, Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia – Banteay Srei temple, Cambodia – Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

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Buddha Statues, Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia

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Borobudur is an amazing Buddhist temple built in the 9th century. This site is well worth a visit. It is located outside Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. I have posted more photos and a video from my visit to the Borobudur Buddhist temple site, which is a world heritage site.

Borobudur includes 504 Buddha statues. I didn’t notice the bat in this photo, when I was visiting.

photo of a bat using an alcolve for a Buddha statue as a resting place.

I did notice this lizard.

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Banteay Srei, Cambodia

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photo of Banteay Srei temple, Cambodia

Banteay Srei temple, Cambodia. The temple is an another amazing temple in the vicinity of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Banteay Srei is fairly small, but I was definitely very glad I took a day trip (1/2 day really) from Siem Reap to here and Kbal Spean.

Related: Angkor Wat – Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, USA – Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

Statue, Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey

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statue

Statue, Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey, Kentucky. Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani from 1941 to his death in 1968. Merton is considered one of the most important spiritual writers of the twentieth century. His books include, The Seven Storey Mountain, No Man Is an Island and New Seeds of Contemplation.