Asia is home to many of the world's great temples, so we'll begin our journey in Japan. Kiyomizu-dera Temple (Pure Water Temple) is lit up, surrounded by the autumn leaves on Nov. 25, 2006, in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 798 AD, the temple draws pilgrims from across Japan: It's the 16th temple on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and the Rakuyo Kannon Pilgrimage includes four of it's halls and one sub-temple. Pilgrims and tourists flock to the temple's popular Jishu-jinja Shrine every day of the week.
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Traditional Japanese dancers, know as Maiko, walk in front of a big banner that reads "Climate Chaos or Solar Future, The choice is Over..." set up by the Green Peace for their campaign against the UN Conference on Global Warming at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, Sunday, Nov. 30, 1997. The international conference to promote the reduction of CO2 and limit the use of energy was discussed by representatives from major nations here.
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The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China, is a Taoist temple built by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century. Shown here is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest where Emperor Yongle would pray for, you guessed it, a good harvest. The temple represents heaven, and everything in it is circular. Below the temple on ground level, everything is square and represents the Earth.
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The Imperial Vault of Heaven was originally built in 1530 and was rebuilt in 1752 -- the interior colors are bold and bright because they were repainted in 1974. In the center of the Imperial Vault of Heaven is a shrine containing the tablet of God of Heaven. During the winter solstice each year, these tablets moved to nearby Circular Mound Altar for the Worshipping Heaven ceremony.
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Chinese performers participate in a ceremony to unveil the official emblem for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing Sunday Aug. 3, 2003. More than 1000 performers took part in the ceremony to unveil the logo at the temple.
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Worshippers carry giant effigy called "ogoh-ogoh" that represents evil spirits during a parade a day before Nyepi, the annual day of silence marking Balinese Hindu new year at 9th century Prambanan temple in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Hindus in the world's most populous Muslim country will celebrate their new year Thursday by observing a day of silence called "Nyepi," in which they have to stay inside their homes and meditate in silence and darkness for the entire day.
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Hindu priests carry offerings during a religious ceremony held in preparation for Hindu Saka New Year celebration at Prambanan temple in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 29, 2006. Built in 850 AD, the temple is composed of 8 main shrines and surrounded by 250 smaller ones. Nearly all the temple's walls have exquisite bas relief carvings that tell stories of Vishnu's incarnations, the Ramayana epic, adventures of Hanuman the Monkey King and other legends.
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Buddhist monks gather for the commemoration of Vesak or Buddha's birthday at Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, Friday, May 28, 2010. The temple was built it over a period of 80 years in the 9th century and was abandoned after a large volcanic eruption and severe earthquake in 1006 AD. Some scholars think the temple is a textbook of Buddhism because its nearly 2,700 bas reliefs tell of Buddha's life and teachings, though pilgrims must walk more than 2 miles and through nine platforms to complete the "lesson."
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A stairway at the 1,100 year-old Borobudur temple is shown in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, Jan. 23, 2001. Wrapped around a hill, the giant monument is built from volcanic rock spewed from nearby rumbling mountains. When the Dutch occupied Indonesia in the 19th century, this ancient ruin was discovered deep within Java's jungles. The structure was build with nearly 2 million cubic feet (55,000 cubic meters) of stones.
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On Borobudur Temple's summit are 92 Buddha statues enclosed in latticed stupas, which point to a heaven known as Nirvana, a realm of bliss that's beyond concept or form. The temple has 504 Buddha statues overlooking four volcanoes and an incomparably beautiful landscape of rice-terraced hills.
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Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest temple in history, and it's inspired countless novels and Hollywood action movies. Built in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat was originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. When Buddhism spread across Asia in the 14th or 15th century, it became a Buddhist temple. A 16th century Portuguese monk described it as being "of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."
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Ta Prohm in the Angkor Wat temple complex of Cambodia has giant banyan trees growing over and through its walls. In Hinduism, the tree's leaves are said to be the God Krishna's resting place. After Krishna consumed the universe, he absorbed everything ever created and turned himself into a child so small he could fit into the leaf of the banyan tree. After floating in the void of space, he eventually decides to recreate everything by pushing the universe back out from within himself. This idea mirrors the theory that the universe expands and contracts constantly, and the banyan tree symbolizes eternal life because of its continued expansion. Additionally, Buddha is thought to have achieved enlightenment while meditating under a banyan tree.
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Wat Rong Khun, or The White Temple, in Chiang Rai, Thailand, is unlike any other Buddhist temple in the world. It is entirely white and gilded with mirrors that make the temple shine as if by magic. Designed by renowned Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, the temple is still under construction and may take as long as 90 years more to complete.
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The pleading hands rise up from hell at Wat Rong Khun, perhaps symbolizing their torment from bad karma. The temple was designed to be completely white as a testament to Lord Buddha's purity.
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The Schwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar was built between the 6th and 10th century. Known as the Golden Temple, it's literally covered in gold -- as well as more than 5,000 diamonds and 2,000 rubies that adorn the spire of the stupa, or dome. In the 15th century, a Mon queen donated her weight in gold to the temple. Today, pilgrims continue this tradition by saving to buy gold leafs to stick on the temple's walls.
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In this photo taken on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, Buddhist devotees pray at Shwedagon Pagoda, marking the end of Buddhist Lent, which begins in early June in Yangon, Myanmar. Buddhist devotees light candles and oil lamps at their homes and pagodas across the country to mark the end of Buddhist Lent. Buddhist Lent is months-long period during which Buddhist monks stay only at one particular place or temples that can shelter them from the sun, storms and rain.
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A Tibetan Buddhist monk walks into the Jokhang Temple on June 18, 2009, in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Traditionally, Lhasa is the seat of the Dalai Lama and the capital of Tibet, and is the highest capital in the world. The city of Lhasa has three paths leading to the temple, and pilgrims often prostrate themselves along the routes to gain spiritual merit. This most sacred temple in Tibet was built in 642 AD and has always housed a statue of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
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In this photo taken Friday, April 30, 2010, the Taktsang Monastery, also known as the Tiger's Nest, stands on a hillside near Paro, Bhutan. The Tiger's Nest, built in 1692 and reconstructed in 1998 after a fire, is one of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the South Asian nation. On the edge of a 3,000-foot (914-meter) cliff and off limits to tourists, the monastery is restricted to practicing Buddhists on religious retreats.
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Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Srirangam, India, is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Dedicated to Vishnu -- one of the three Hindu Gods -- the temple is famous for its 21 gopurams, or entrances beneath colorful pyramids. The largest gopuram has 15 stories and is 200 feet (60 meters) tall. Legend has it that a resting sage put down a statue of Vishnu that he later was unable to move. A small temple was built over the statue, and the temple "grew" over the centuries as larger temples were built as population growth dictated.
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Deities of the Hindu pantheon decorate the walls of Ranganatha Hindu Temple in Srirangam near Tiruchirapalli in the Tamel Nadu region of southern India. Historically, the paintings were lime plaster with colors extracted from vegetables and other sources. The temple had no drainage, and rainwater damaged many decorative panels. Wild plants grew on walls, and bird and bat droppings destroyed many panels, as well. The temple was only recently restored to its formal grandeur.
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The Harmandir Sahib (The Abode of God) in Punjab, India, is the most sacred shrine of Sikhism, for whom it symbolizes freedom and spiritual independence. Temple construction began in the 16th century when the fourth Guru of Sikhism enlarged the lake -- which was said to be so peaceful that Buddha meditated there -- around which the temple grew. Gilded in gold and decorated with precious stones and marble sculptures, the temple is often called simply The Golden Temple of Amritsar.
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A Sikh devotee sits in prayer and meditation at Amritsar's Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest of places, in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The temple is called The Abode of God, as it is God's house where people go to search for peace, happiness and comfort. The shrine's four gates represent the equality of all humankind: People of any country, faith, caste, creed or sect are welcome there.
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Now, let's take a look at a Middle-Eastern temple. A Lebanese tourist guide points at Roman ruins in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, in this picture taken on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2006. According to UNESCO, three of Lebanon's five World Heritage sites are in need of urgent repairs following this summer's Israel-Hezbollah war. Experts said already existing cracks in the temples of Baalbek may have widened because of vibrations from bombings in the area. This is a common theme throughout war-torn middle-eastern countries.
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Moving into Europe, we'll look at one of Greek's most famous temples. In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, visitors sit on a rocky outcrop looking out onto the Acropolis, with the newly-restored temple of the goddess Athena Nike, distinguished by its four Ionic columns, on a platform below and to the left of the Parthenon, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010. A ten-year restoration project has just been completed on the 2,400-year-old temple, which was dismantled to ground level and rebuilt to correct damage from ground subsidence and rusting internal joints
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People of Freedom party supporters wave flags in front of the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple, in Rome, Tuesday, April 15, 2008. The Pantheon (All the Gods) dates back to 27 BC, when Marcus Agrippa planned it as a temple to the Gods. Emperor Hadrian oversaw its completion more than 150 years later, and is now one of the most recognizable architectural works in the world The Pantheon is the only building constructed during the Roman Empire that remains intact today.
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As we move on to the Americas, let's check out Mexico's Mayan ruins. The Temple of the Warriors, one of the most impressive structures at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico, is comprised of an outer and inner temple. The big building (outer temple) includes an altar dedicated to the infinite harmony of the infinite cosmos, inside which there is a substructure (inner temple) known as the Chac Mool. The temple dates from the 10th or 11th century AD, and may be one of the only late Mayan buildings big enough for a large number of people to gather.
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Our last stop is in Guatemala. Towering above the jungle canopy at a height of nearly 230 feet (70 meters), the great Mayan temples of Tikal make up the largest excavated site of all the ruined Mayan cities. Some of the earliest ruins at Tikal date back to the 4th century BC, but the city didn't reach its height until nearly 500 years later, during the Mayan Classic Era (2nd to 10th century AD). Nearly 310 miles (500 kilometers) north of Guatemala City, Tikal is one of the country's prized cultural landmarks. Almost a decade after the end of a 36-year civil war that brought repressive military dictatorships and horrific human rights violations -- 200,000 people were killed -- Guatemala is starting to shed its bloodstained reputation and earn new fame as a top tourist destination.
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