Lift up Thine Eyes

Paul Romano built a rendition of the Rockwell painting Lift up Thine Eyes .

Machu Picchu

The Incan city of Machu Picchu (here from the Piece of Peace exhibit) isn't completely understood, but many feel that it was a sacred place, that the buildings were used to trace astronomical events in relation to religious rituals.

Buddha

Nathan Sawaya built this Buddha as part of his Art of the Brick exhibit.

Sagrada Familia

Lluisgib made this rendition of Sagrada Familia.

Imagine a Bible Story

Kristi McWii invites you to Imagine a Bible Story.

Christ Church, Malacca

Christ Church (here in LEGO by BricksBen) in Malacca is the oldest functioning Protestant church in Malaysia. The church was built in 1753 as a Dutch Reformed Church and was later reconsecrated in 1838 for an Anglican congregation.

Lantern Festival

This is a LEGO take on the Taiwan tourism agency's logo for the Lantern Festival. This is a Chinese festival during February (on the first full moon of the lunar year, to be precise) that is now more cultural, but may have religious origins. This celebration, which has gone on for over a thousand years, involves colorful lanterns, including sky lanterns, traditional foods, and also fireworks. There are various legends about the origin of the festival, and some of them involve folk religion. In one legend, the festival started out as a sacrifice to Taiyi, the God of Heaven. Another story says that the festival was to entertain the Taoist god Tianguan and pray for good fortune in the new year. Still another had the festival start when villagers lit red lanterns and set off fireworks to trick the Jade Emperor in heaven into believing that the village was in flames, so that he would not destroy them for killing his sacred crane. Other non-religious origin stories involve commemorating a heroic warrior and a girl who was reunited with her parents when they came to watch the flying lanterns (hmm, Tangled anyone?).

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-MichelMont Saint-Michel (here in the Piece of Peace exhibit) is a fortified tidal island just off the coast of France between Brittany and Normandy. It has been the site of a monastery since the eighth century; the abbey on the summit was built between the tenth and sixteenth centuries.

Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida

More simply known as the Cathedral of Brasilia, this Roman Catholic cathedral was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and completed in 1970 in Brasilia. It is dedicated to 'Our Lady of Conception who Appeared.' This LEGO rendition is from the Piece of Peace exhibit.

Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Here is the Nikkō Tōshō-gū from the Piece of Peace exhibition. This is a Shinto shrine in Nikkō, Japan, dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, whose remains are entombed there.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Here's another creation from the Piece of Peace exhibit, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque from Istanbul, also called the Blue Mosque. The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 and continues as an active mosque today.

Ramadan

Last night was the start of Ramadan, the month in which Muslims celebrate the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. The main practices during this time are fasting during the daytime and an emphasis on prayer and reading the Quran. To note the day, here is Mecca by Mezba Mahtab. Let us hope that this month we see peace return to Egypt and Syria.

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven (here from the Piece of Peace exhibit) in Beijing dates back to 1406 (with renovation in the 18th century). Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would give annual sacrifices there for good crops.

Dunhuang Caves

Also known as the Mogao Grottoes, this series of 492 Buddhist temples was carved out of the hills around an oasis along the Silk Road in northwest China. The first caves were carved around 366, and construction continued on the site over a thousand years. Cave 96, called the Nine Storey Building (here from the Piece of Peace exhibition)houses the Northern Giant Buddha, at 35 meters the second largest stone Buddha on Earth (it was fourth largest before the two Bamiyan Buddhas were destroyed in 2001). The statue depicts the Buddha Maitreya, who is foretold to appear at a future point after the teachings of the Buddha have been forgotten and mankind has degraded into lawlessness.

Moai

Continuing our look at the Piece of Peace exhibit, here are the Moai of Easter Island.

Prayer at Valley Forge

For the Fourth of July, here is a rendition of the 1975 Arnold Friberg painting of George Washington: Prayer at Valley Forge, here in LEGO by Snooperking.

Piece of Peace - Stephensdom

I'm glad to see that the Piece of Peace exhibit by Kazuyoshi Naoeis still touring. At least it was last November when CK Tsang saw it in Tokyo. I hope that someday this traveling show makes it across the Pacific so that I can see it, but in the meantime I'll feature a series of the creation here. Let's start with Stephansdom. This beautiful cathedral was built in Vienna between 1137 and 1160, with some rebuilding after damage to the roof at the end of WWII. It is the seat of the archbishop of Vienna and has become a symbol of the city.