STONES THAT SPEAK THE FAITH
The world's great religions have moulded not only thought and behaviour, but bricks and stone, too. Each has generated a traditional style of building to reflect its central beliefs and often its history.

BUDDHIST:
The typical Buddhist building is a stupa, a circular mound of earth usually covered with bricks and plaster. Relics were often buried in the mound. Most stupas are topped by a small spire, a stylised umbrella or parasol. Parasols were a royal symbol, and they were used on stupas to signify Buddha's universal dominion. In Korea, China and Japan, the stupa was adapted into a pagoda. Buddhism's holiest places are: the temple of Borobudur, Java; and the stupas of Sanchi and Bharhut, both in Madhya Pradesh, India.

CHRISTIAN:
Most Christian churches are built in the shape of a cross, symbolising the crucifixion. The altar is usually at the east end of the nave, towards Jerusalem. Not all follow this pattern, however. Many early churches - including the church of San Clemente in Rome - have their altars at the western end, and some Nonconformist churches are square or round. Christianity's holiest places are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem - the presumed site of Christ's crucifixion - and the grave of St Peter, beneath the altar of St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome. (Other names of Christian buildings include Cathedral, Chapel and Abbey.)

HINDU:
Extravagant decoration and an enormous variety of styles mark Hindu architecture, reflecting the thousands of gods worshipped. Temple walls, such as those at Khajurho in northern India, are often richly carved with figures from Hindu legend. Hinduism's holiest places are the River Ganges and the holy city of Varanasi (Benares) on its banks.

JEWISH:
A synagogue can be anything from a room in a private house to a grand hall, reflecting the need for discretion during long periods of persecution. The word comes from the Greek, sunagoge, meaning 'assembly'. The only requirement for a synagogue are two candelabra, an Ark, or alcove, to hold the Scriptures, and a platform to read them from. Judaism's holiest places are: Mount Sinai, in the Sinai peninsula, Egypt, where God is said to have delivered the ten commandments on stone tablets to Moses while the Jews were in the wilderness; and the Wailing, or Western, Wall in Jerusalem - believed to be part of the Temple of Solomon.

MUSLIM:
The earliest mosques (from the Arabic word masjid meaning 'place of worship') were often open rectangular courtyards surrounded by covered colonnades, featureless from the outside. Later, the central sancturies were usually covered by domes and surrounded by one or more high minarets from which the muezzin or crier could call the faithful to prayer five times a day. Every mosque has a niche called the mihrab built into the wall facing Mecca to indicate the direction for worshippers to face when praying. Most also have a fountain or well in the courtyard for ritual cleansing. Decorations are limited to abstract designs or inscriptions from the Koran. The Haddith, the Islamic Traditions, forbid the representation of living human figures in art to avoid image worship. Islam's holiest place is the Kaaba shrine in the Great Mosque at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is believed to be a replica of God's house in Heaven, built on Earth by Abraham and Ishmael.

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