Religious Sites

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Ayutthaya — island kingdom

This is the first in a series of three articles on gardens in Sicily. I visited the island at the bottom of Italy’s boot in June 2016 as a guest on the land portion of Overseas Adventure Travel’s “Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions” itinerary (Oct. ’16, pg. 18). It’s important to note that the three gardens written about, while located in areas visited, were not part of the tour itinerary. I researched the gardens, made my own contacts and, in the tour program’s free time, paid the admission charges and visited them. — YMH 

13 days, 12 nights, June 15-27, 2017. Highlights: In Sofia, BULGARIA, medieval Boyana Church, Sofia Synagogue/10th-century Rila Monastery/in Kyustendil, Dimitar Peshev Museum/near medieval Veliko Târnovo, Arbanassi stone village/in Rose Valley, Shipka Memorial Church (Orthodox)/in Skopje, MACEDONIA, Holocaust Memorial Center, Bet Yaakov Synagogue/in Bitola, 15th-century Jewish cemetery/historic Ohrid/in Thessaloniki, GREECE, Jewish quarter. $3,260 ppdo. Single supp., $640. Joseph Benatov (Philadelphia, PA; 267/970-1817, sephardicbalkans.com).

The fortress church pictured in our August 2016 mystery photo — the Church of St. Mary of Mercy (Sveta Marija) — is located in the town of Vrboska on the island of Hvar in Croatia. The original church was built over 550 years ago, but more than a century later, during the 1570s, eight years after a Turkish attack, it was rebuilt as a fortress.

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Early Khmer temples at Angkor

12 days, 11 nights, April 2-13, Oct. 10-21 & Nov. 18-29, 2017. Highlights: In Tokyo, Meiji Jingu (Shinto shrine), Senso-ji Buddhist temple complex, Tokyo Skytree/near Mt. Fuji, Sengen shrine, Itchiku Kubota Art Museum/in Matsumoto, wooden castle/in Takayama, Hirayu Waterfall, Matsuri no Moro Museum for display of festival carts/Daio Wasabi Farm/in Kyoto, Zen Buddhist Temple of the Golden Pavilion, tea ceremony. $4,300-$7,500 (per group size) ppdo. Single supp., $500. Journeys International (Ann Arbor, MI; 800/255-8735,  www.journeys

11 days, 10 nights, March-June & September-October 2017. Highlights: Travel from Rome to Assisi for tour of St. Mary of the Angels Basilica/Church of St. Clare/in Loreto, Holy House of Nazareth/at Mont Sant’ Angelo, see Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel/11th-century Abbey of Santissima Trinità/at Vatican City, papal audience/in Rome, ancient catacombs. $2,469 per person, triple; $2,499 ppdo, or $2,999 single. The Catholic Tour (Beachwood, OH; 877/627-4268, www.thecatholictour.com).

14-day, 13-night pilgrimage walk in SPAIN, June 30-July 13, 2017. Highlights: Shuttle from Bilbao to medieval town of Santillana del Mar for replica of Cave of Altamira/walk coastline to Ribadesella for prehistoric Cueva de Tito Bustillo/in Lourenzà, 10th-century Benedictine monastery of San Salvador/arrive at cathedral in Santiago de Compostela from Monte do Gozo. €3,500 (near $3,916) ppdo. Single supp., €500 ($560). Spanish Steps (Aspen, CO; 877/787-9255, www.spanishsteps.com).

11 days, 9 nights, Dec. 17-27, 2016. Highlights: In Madrid, Prado Museum/in Toledo, Church of Santo Tomé, Santa Maria la Blanca Synagogue/La Mancha region/Mezquita (Mosque) de Córdoba/Cathedral of Seville/in Granada, 13th-century Alhambra Palace/Valencia tour/drive Catalunya coastline/in Barcelona, Montjuïc Hill. $1,479, land only, or $2,469 per person, double occupancy (ppdo), from New York. Single supp., $521. Virgin Vacations (Fort Washington, PA; 888/937-8474, www.virgin-vacations.com).

In Saudi Arabia, terrorist groups (some affiliated with Daesh [ISIL] or Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP]) have targeted both Saudi and Western interests over the past year, with multiple attacks on mosques and on places where members of the Shia-Muslim minority gather, resulting in significant loss of life.