The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: Decoding Churches, Temples, Mosques and Other Places of Worship Around the World

A fascinating exploration of the codes and meanings encrypted in our places of daily worship - covering all major faiths of the world from antiquity to modern times.

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.

Jon Cannon has worked for the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and for English Heritage. In 2001 he was shortlisted for the David Watt Memorial Prize. He was the presenter of the BBC TV series How to Build a Cathedral, and his book Cathedral: The Great English Cathedrals and the World that Made Them was published to great acclaim.