Churches in Paris and elsewhere

  Really beautiful towering spaces and cloister. This was built for an order of begging monks back in the thirteenth century (vow of poverty, give us a bob or two and we'll pray for your soul). It is a high point of your Southern French Gothic style, and provided a significant amount of work for local brickies. The style was part of a more austere more aggressive architecture which was meant to help persuade people tempted by the heresy of the Cathars (no sacraments, no private property, big role for women) to remain within the fold and therefore avoid risking torture and death. Albi cathedral (my favourite cathedral) is another example of this style. The building contains the relics of St Thomas Aquinas (star 14th century catholic philosopher). Information in English Information in French Information in Occitan

  Jerusalem has more religion per square foot than anywhere I have ever been.   The Jewish orthodox neighbourhood outside the old city and inside, the Armenian quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Jewish quarter and so on (the division of the city into quarters was far less strict before the arrival of Israel in 1948, I am told).   For people like me, brought up Catholic, there is plenty to see. Jerusalem has visible history everywhere, as well as plenty of invisible history about the ethnic cleansing which Palestinians have been victims of in a hundred ways over the last 80 years and more. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered by many Christians to be built on the site that Jesus was crucified, buried and then rose again. It is no ordinary church, and is made up of a maze of chapels, many of them connected with a particular brand of christianity.   The main groups sharing the church are the  Roman Catholic ,  Greek Orthodox  and  Armenian Apostolic , and to a lesser degree the