When you're trying to connect with your god, it helps to find some peace and quiet, if you can.
Many were only accessible by steep and secret paths in order to provide the most seclusion as they sought uninterrupted spiritual awakening.
By far the most precarious is a monastery that dangles seemingly in defiance of the laws of physics on the side of Mt Huashan in China.
Located around 75 miles east from Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province, Mt Huashan is known as 'The number one precipitous mountain under Heaven'.
It is one of the five sacred mountains in China.
It is home to several influential Taoist temples where emperors of past dynasties made pilgrimages, making Mt Huashan the holy land of Taoism.
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In Bhutan, the Taktshang Tiger's Nest monastery clings to a cliff 2,300ft above the Paro Valley floor.
According to legend, it takes its name from the 'second Buddha', Precious Guru Padmasambhava, who travelled to the site on a tiger.
Some visitors have reportedly fallen to their death on the way up after apparently losing their footing.
But the desire to build in such vertigo-inducing places isn't just confined to Asia. Turkey has its own, the monastery of Sumela, perched
at an altitude of 3,900ft.
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It was created in 386AD during the reign of Emporer Theodosius I apparently after two priests discovered a miraculous icon of the
Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain.
As with most of these great buildings, they aren't the easiest to access. In Greece, the Roussanou Monastery could only be accessed
by baskets lifted by pulleys, until roads, steps and bridges were contructed in the 1920s.
It is one of six active monasteries in the Meteora complex, one the largest and most important developments of its kind, only behind
Mount Athos.
The monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pinnacles near the Pinios.
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Another stunning piece of architecture, which also places a rock at the heart of its construction, is Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka.
Built on a 'magma plug', the sacred city contains the ruins of the original temple, which dates back to 500AD.
The legs and paws of a lion still remain either side of the entrance, but the head fell down years ago. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.
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Many were only accessible by steep and secret paths in order to provide the most seclusion as they sought uninterrupted spiritual awakening.
By far the most precarious is a monastery that dangles seemingly in defiance of the laws of physics on the side of Mt Huashan in China.
Located around 75 miles east from Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province, Mt Huashan is known as 'The number one precipitous mountain under Heaven'.
It is one of the five sacred mountains in China.
It is home to several influential Taoist temples where emperors of past dynasties made pilgrimages, making Mt Huashan the holy land of Taoism.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=frm00001-21.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/frm00001-21.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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In Bhutan, the Taktshang Tiger's Nest monastery clings to a cliff 2,300ft above the Paro Valley floor.
According to legend, it takes its name from the 'second Buddha', Precious Guru Padmasambhava, who travelled to the site on a tiger.
Some visitors have reportedly fallen to their death on the way up after apparently losing their footing.
But the desire to build in such vertigo-inducing places isn't just confined to Asia. Turkey has its own, the monastery of Sumela, perched
at an altitude of 3,900ft.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=frm00005-11.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/frm00005-11.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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It was created in 386AD during the reign of Emporer Theodosius I apparently after two priests discovered a miraculous icon of the
Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain.
As with most of these great buildings, they aren't the easiest to access. In Greece, the Roussanou Monastery could only be accessed
by baskets lifted by pulleys, until roads, steps and bridges were contructed in the 1920s.
It is one of six active monasteries in the Meteora complex, one the largest and most important developments of its kind, only behind
Mount Athos.
The monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pinnacles near the Pinios.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=frm00012-3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/frm00012-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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Another stunning piece of architecture, which also places a rock at the heart of its construction, is Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka.
Built on a 'magma plug', the sacred city contains the ruins of the original temple, which dates back to 500AD.
The legs and paws of a lion still remain either side of the entrance, but the head fell down years ago. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.
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