Sacred Space: Where Heaven Meets Earth

Why do we feel such emotion when we enter a church, a temple, a mosque, or a synagogue? In these timeless spaces, which our ancestors have bequeathed to us, there is a beauty and mystery, which transport us. Sacred monuments have a complex and coded architecture, which combines science and alchemy, the magical and the profane. But for those who know how to read them, these structures of wood, stone and glass tell the great narrative of human belief. Each  of these very different edifices represents the pinnacle of what mankind has created on Earth. By revealing the secret history of the world’s most remarkable religious constructions, this ambitious series in 4K also tells the history of humankind, of our faith, and our genius as builders.

The immense white stupas of Erdene Zuu Monastery seem a natural feature of the Mongolian Steppes, close to Karakorum, Genghis Khan’s legendary capital of his Mongol Empire. They are the silent witnesses of the story of caravan traders along the Silk Road, fringing the greatest and most sacred Buddhist monastery in the country. Partially destroyed and abandoned during the Communist occupation, the remaining temples, a celebration of the architecture of Sino- Tibetan Central Asian architecture, have nonetheless managed to withstand the assault of History and once again sound with the chants of monks who have given it new life.