Religious Sites

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories from the south of Spain — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

I’m in the little hill town of Arcos de la Frontera, just south of Sevilla. Today, my goal is to connect with the culture of small-town Spain.

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories from London — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

Wearing a red robe and a warm smile, Eddie works as a verger at London’s Westminster Abbey. As a church official, he keeps order in this space, which is both very touristy and very sacred.

In Istanbul, Turkey, Hagia Sophia, a museum since 1934, was declared to be an active mosque on July 10. The first Friday prayers in 86 years were held in the building on July 24. Despite the conversion, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdog˘an has promised that the building will remain open to visitors of all faiths. During Islamic services, the Byzantine frescoes and icons will be covered, as human images are prohibited in Islam.

In western France, a fire burned parts of Nantes Cathedral, or the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul of Nantes, on July 18, destroying its organ and the large, 17th-century stained-glass window on its façade. Firefighters put out the fire before any structural damage was done.

A volunteer warden of the cathedral admitted to starting the fire after being questioned by police. No motive was reported as of press time.

8-day, 7-night “vigorous” private tour of northern INDIA. Custom, private departures only. Highlights: Fly from Delhi to Leh/visit Thikse Monastery, 16th-century Shey Palace/ancient Tibetan Buddhist Lamayuru Monastery/visit local guides’ homes in village of Hemishakpatchan/Alchi Monastery for 11th- and 12th-century Buddhist wall paintings. $2,250 ppdo. Single supp., $250. Air, Delhi-Leh, about $450. Journeys International (Ann Arbor, MI; 800/255-8735, www.journeysinternational.com).

12-day, 11-night visit. Departures March 15 & 29, April 12, 2021. Highlights: On HONSHU, transfer from Osaka to Kyoto to see moss garden at 6th-century Saiho-ji Temple, 500-year-old stone garden at Ryōan-ji Temple, Silver Pavilion Zen temple/deer park in Nara/on Day 5, train to Hiroshima for ferry to Matsuyama on SHIKOKU island/en route to Kochi, candle-making workshop/in Iya Valley, 300-year-old farmhouse, boat ride in Oboke Gorge/in Nagoro, kakashi (scarecrow) village/Shinto shrine in Kotohira. $14,625 ppdo (group of 6-8).

In Ferrara, northern Italy, more than 200 Jewish artifacts and documents from the Roman, Renaissance and modern periods are displayed at Museo Nazionale dell’Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah (Via Piangipane 81; phone +39 0532 769137, www.meisweb.it/en).

Commemorating over 2,000 years of Jewish history and practice in Italy, up to the Shoah (Holocaust), the museum is housed in a former prison, near the Medieval Jewish ghetto, that housed Jews and political dissidents during WWII. Multimedia installations are included.

9-day, 8-night archaeological tour led by Maya specialist in southern MEXICO, Jan. 30-Feb. 7, 2021. Group limit, 12. Highlights: In Mérida, Great Museum of the Maya World/Ek’ Balam for “winged warrior” sculptures/at Chichén Itzá, 9th-century temples, pyramids, ruins of El Caracol (observatory)/in Dzibilchaltún, Temple of the Seven Dolls. $5,695 ppdo (group of 7-9) or $5,195 ppdo (group of 10-12). Single supp., $685. Archaeological Institute of America (Walpole, NH; 800/748-6262, www.aiatours.org).