SPaiN: Extravagant Worship

The Monastries, Catherals, Mosques... all extravagantly and extremely elaborately designed. Simply takes your breath away how the spanish rulers, architects, pilgrims who spared no efforts in building the perfect/ideal church to worship God.

El Escorial in San Lorenzo

El Escorial was originally designed as a monument to Spain's role as a center of the Christian world. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school. The coffins of the royal family was kept there too! When you descend down to the basement, could feel the sudden drop in temperature... Luckily, there was constant flow of visitors, so you don't feel the still eerie silence *shudderz*

Mosque in Cordoba
Looking at its unorthodox architectural designs, it really sounds like a story of identity crisis... This Roman Catholic Cathedral was originally built as a Mosque on the place (and partly with materials) of what previously had been a Christian Visigothic Church in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain. It is regarded as perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Córdoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was turned into a church, with a Gothic cathedral inserted into the center of the large Moorish building. Today the entire building is used to house the Cathedral of the diocese of Córdoba in Spain.

La Sagrada Familia
This is my All Time Favorite!!!
Before visiting BCN, i've always thot that this famous 'forever work-in-progress' church looks like a hideous beehive. However, i've since changed my mind after my visit to the cathedral. With the detailed expalanation of the audioguide, you learn to appreciate the ambitious plans that Gaudi had to glorify and worship God. The Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Passion façade to the West, and the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed). In the sanctuary, the pillars are designed to represent the tall trees and branching out at the ceiling. Gaudi was trying to replicate the Forest.. to provide One a sense of spending a prayerful moment with God in the safe sanctuary of the Forest, surrounded by God's beautiful creations. According to the latest update in wikipedia, the church is now availale for regular religious services! =)