caves

This ancient cave church is believed to have been dug by St. Peter himself. Fronted by a Crusader-era facade, it still hosts worship services and attracts pilgrims.

An early Christian monastery carved from rock, located about 35 miles from Antakya near the Mediterranean Sea.

According to tradition, Mary nursed Jesus here and spilled a drop of milk, turning the ground white. Christian and Muslim women collect stone scrapings from the cave for fertility.

An important shrine to several religions, this is said to be the very cave in which the Hebrew prophet Elijah is believed to have lived and taught.

Cappadocia's most famous attraction, for good reason, is the Göreme Open Air Museum, a complex of medieval cave churches carved out and painted by Orthodox monks.

This sacred grotto is believed to mark the spot where St. John received his visions from Christ that he recorded in the Book of Revelation.

This complex of cave temples on Elephanta Island, an hour-long ferry ride from Mumbai, were carved in honor of Shiva in the 7th century.

An 8th-century Buddhist cave temple in the hills above Bulguksa, this is the only structure surviving fully intact from the Silla era.