Author(s): Jon Cannon

Architecture General | Architecture

Across the globe, pilgrims and tourists, locals and foreigners flock to sacred sites and houses of worship. Why? Because throughout time, humans have directed extraordinary amounts of energy toward the creation of architecture that expresses their religious beliefs.

From Stonehenge to the Sagrada Família; from the Acropolis to Angkor Wat, The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces offers fascinating insights into some of the most impressive man-made structures in the world. By revealing how these historical places of worship were used and how tenets of a faith were encoded in their structures, the book enhances our understanding and appreciation of the human mind and spirit.

The superb full-color photographs that can be found on every page are supplemented by ingenious 'decoder' sections. These zero in on the most important design elements, combining close-up detail with fascinating explanatory detail.

The book emphasizes the key living faiths (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism), but early chapters also look at the great sites of prehistory and antiquity, including the stone circle at Avebury in southwest England and the Pyramids at Giza.