Shrines

Sky ships, planes, and portraits left as unique tokens of hope and thankfulness.

Only through deep darkness and tragedy did this elaborate royal palace become a sacred temple.

A secret Virgin Mary tucked away on a Brazilian beach.

The hotel room where Janis Joplin tragically died has now become a makeshift shrine to the singer.

This church devoted to Mexico's "dead saint" is a festive celebration of a formerly hidden religious figure.

This grand stone tower was dedicated to a famed American humorist almost by coincidence.

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

A waterfall runs right through the middle of this Taiwanese shrine to the hundreds of workers killed while building a nearby highway.

This serene oasis in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood holds some of Gandhi's ashes and got Elvis into Eastern Philosophy.

This ornate mosque is said to hold the remains of Muhammad's granddaughter beneath its dome of pure gold.

Isolated atop this Balinese sea crag is a lovely Hindu temple that is said to be guarded by sea snakes.

Nailing a coin to this holy stump is just another way to ask the gods for relief from dental pain.

A roadside shrine to a late rock god only remains thanks to the unyielding efforts of his fans.

The first peace pagoda to be constructed in the Western world sits next to a small English lake.

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.

A Singapore shrine to an unnamed German girl who has become a local deity.