Places of worship

Civchic · Jun 16, 2014

I took these shots with a cheapo point and shoot on our AMAZING trip to Antigua, Guatemala in November, 2011. Antigua was the third capital of Guatemala (nestled in the rich valley between several active volcanoes), and was a rich town full of great Spanish architecture. In 1773 the city was virtually destroyed by earthquakes, and the government moved to what is now Guatemala City. The population went to basically zero and the old churches, monasteries and cathedrals were left to rot where they had fallen. In the last 75 years several have been rebuilt, or in the process of rebuilding, others are simply shored up and blocked off, and still others are too far gone to save. You can walk through these holy places (and I say that as an atheist) completely alone, unlike other historic sites in the world where you are surrounded by throngs of other tourists. It was truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Antigua Guatemala - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I hadn't fallen down the photography rabbit hole yet, and was shooting with a cheapo point and shoot I borrowed from work (construction inspection), but they are so beautiful they do the crappy camera justice.

El Carmen church:

044 - el carmen by civgirlca, on Flickr

La Merced church:

066 - la merced by civgirlca, on Flickr

The remains of La Recoleccion church and convent (this is one where you are allowed to wander in/on/over the ruins):

076 - la recoleccion church and convent by civgirlca, on Flickr

084 - walls by civgirlca, on Flickr

San Francisco church:

157 - another fountain view by civgirlca, on Flickr

Twannie1980 · Jun 16, 2014

The inside the Saint Rombouts Cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium.
The churches here are always marvels of architecture and beauty!

keyseddie · Jun 17, 2014

Cool story and pics, civchic. I've not been to Belgium, interesting WA stuff Twannie. Churches are everywhere in Assissi, in Umbria, on the religion map due to Frank the animal lover. There is evidence of 5 churches in this view of the city.

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JoeW · Jun 17, 2014

Let me add a few contributions. The first photo is of Mission Carmel:

And the second is of the Frank Lloyd Wright Unity Church in Chicago:

And the third is the Shrine of St. Therese outside of Juneau:

And yes, I can personally vouch for the beauty of Istanbul as well as Antigua.

keyseddie · Jun 21, 2014

Assisi is full of holy peeps, and a really cool town. You can buy angel wings for 30 euros, (didn't have my size) and thousands of different rosaries. It's the town of San Francesco.
His cathedral is so large it has an upper and lower chiesa.
Lower church

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Upper church.

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keyseddie · Jun 21, 2014

Frank's image is everywhere. Guarding the coast below.

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And on many buildings.

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paulvgmip · Jun 22, 2014

Contributing to the thread, I took this picture of this beautiful church down in Santuario, New Mexico.

limr · Jun 22, 2014

I have a hard time believing this, but I don't think I took a single picture of any of the big mosques my whole time in Istanbul. Portugal, however, is rotten with churches and monasteries. Here's one called Batalha ("Battle" - built after, oddly enough, a big battle

The Battle of Aljubarrota, to be exact.)

I've been scanning more prints and when I get the dust removed from a few more, I'll post some more.

irfan.in.tx · Jun 22, 2014

Suleimaniye Mosque, Istanbul.

zutty · Jun 23, 2014

Looks like your camera went off by accident

keyseddie · Jun 23, 2014

zutty said:
Looks like your camera went off by accident

Touche' zutty.:thumbup:
Here now, go to church!
Duomo in Florence. Without a t&s lens, you have to get what you can. It's really tight. Canon EF 17-40 at 17 for both.

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zutty · Jun 23, 2014

Let us pray, for compassion and insight...grin. BTW..Joisey, I'm a NYC boy who relocated up in Maine...Lots of beauty here that I'm looking forward to photographing.