Varied definitions make it hard to compare one shrine to another. Does it have to be religious? Do people worship other things outside of church? Is England's mysterious Stonehenge site a shrine? Who knows?
But some stand out as awesome, uncommon or maybe just odd, including these:
• In Arkansas: Our Lady of the Ozarks Shrine is at a Catholic church in Winslow, south of Fayetteville.
The Order of the Mystic Shrine has been established in Arkansas since 1870, according to the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Shriners are a fraternal organization who support medical care for children.
• Oldest: The Palace of Knossos and the island of Crete is the ancient Greek contender. Built around 2,000 B.C., it goes back to the mythology of King Minos, Theseus and the Minotaur.
• New: The nine-domed temple of Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, opened to the public in 2005.
• Biggest: Debatable, but the ancient Roman vote went to the maximus, mighty-columned Temple of Jupiter in Lebanon, built on the site of an even larger pre-Roman temple.
• Smallest: "And Then There Was Nano: The Smallest Bible in the World," an exhibit at the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. Enshrined is the Bible on a microchip no bigger than a grain of sugar.
• Oddest: El Cuadrilatero, Mexico City's shrine to masked wrestlers including the Blue Demon, as described in a tourist guide from The Lonely Planet. The site doubles as a sandwich shop, home of the Hope watermelon-size torta gladiador. (A sandwich that must weigh 20 pounds to earn the title.)
-- Ron Wolfe
Style on 09/11/2016