Monuments and Men

Its exuberant, symbolic and figurative architecture tells, with its thousands of colored sculptures, the eventful epics of its divinities. This monument is dedicated to the god Shiva and his beloved companion, Minakshi, whose union is celebrated every evening at nightfall ...

Work on its maintenance hope to obtain better karma during their reincarnation.

Buddhism has found its purest form in Japan with Zen, which emphasizes emptiness, as a principle that is both spiritual and aesthetic. In Kyoto, the famous Daitoku-ji temple and its gardens are a hymn to nature. The latter plays the role of intermediary between the profane and the sacred, the visible and the invisible, in a supreme quest for harmony and beauty.

In the Mongolian steppes is the iconic Erdene Zuu Monastery, where Tibetan Buddhism has come to mingle with local ancestral beliefs. The monks, who live there in seclusion, practice meditation and teaching every day, and perpetuate numerous rites in connection with the inhabitants and nature.

The Süleymaniye Imperial Mosque, the most imposing in Istanbul, was erected from 1550 in honor of Suleiman the Magnificent. Designed by the famous architect Sinan, it has harmonious proportions, four minarets, a cascading dome and an interior bathed in light that make it exceptional.

With its multicolored bulbs, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin, better known as Saint Basil the Blessed, has become the emblem of Orthodox Russia and one of the most visited monuments from the capital. To celebrate the capture of Kazan in 1552, Tsar Ivan the Terrible had a dazzling cathedral built in Moscow's Red Square.

Spared by wars and revolutions, Chartres Cathedral is the most complete and best-preserved Gothic monument in France. Built in barely thirty years from the end of the 12th century, it stands out for its stylistic homogeneity. Since 2008, a vast renovation program has been undertaken to restore their splendor to its famous stained-glass windows as well as to its exceptional "choir tower".

With its gigantic dome and its facades of white and green marble, the Duomo illuminates the old town of Florence. Sabine Frommel, historian specializing in the Renaissance, reveals the secrets of the construction of this incredible cathedral.

A true architectural feat, a monument to an eventful history, the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel has no equal in the world. Having become a major pilgrimage center, it is also to its natural setting, the bay, that it owes its worldwide fame.

Among the great monuments of the Place du Meydan, the Royal Mosque is a real eye-catcher. Built in 1637 at the instigation of the sovereign who gave it its name, the great mosque of Shah Abbas symbolizes the Muslim renaissance.

The Jama Masjid Mosque is a large open-air sandstone and marble mosque with an area of ​​4,200 m2. Discover this iconic monument of Old Delhi, where thousands of worshipers and visitors flock from sunrise to sunset.

Exploration of three sacred monuments, their links, and the men who protect them and bring them to life from day to day: the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock.

Budapest: the story of three cities that merged into one, a proud Jewish city where technology and innovation allowed the construction of its most famous synagogue, the Dohany, where the sacred torahs are kept.

We attend a Bar Mitzvah ceremony inside one of the five synagogues in the ghetto, led by Rabbi Scialom Bahbout, chief rabbi of Venice.

La Ghriba, on the island of Djerba, is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic and visited synagogues in Africa. Presented as "the antechamber of Jerusalem", it has within it the remains of the Temple of Solomon.