“Eye of the Tower” by Mehmet Yasa; Verona, Italy. “The staircase and the bell looks like an eye. Architecture can fascinate us in many ways”. (Photo by Mehmet Yasa/Art of Building Photography Awards 2017)

These illuminating images show the crumbling remains of some of the worlds places of worship. The shots include golden chapels, overgrown synagogues and eerily silent rooms that were once used for prayer. They were visited by Matthias Haker, a 31-year-old photographer from Potsdam, Germany. Adding to the general intrigue of his images, Matthias never discloses the location of a shot – not even the town, country or continent. Here: The Church of All Saints. (Photo by Matthias Haker/Caters News)

The phenomenon of the Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania began when people started leaving crosses there hundreds of years ago – and continues to this day. These photos of a hill covered in crosses show the amazing sight it has become. Photo: In 1831 an unsuccessful uprising against the Russian czar left many rebels dead. Relatives of the dead rebels, with no bodies to bury, instead left crosses, according to the Daily Mail. (Photo by Richard Gardner/Rex USA)

People walk with their belongings in a flooded area after the Nile river overflowed after continuous heavy rain which caused thousands of people to be displaced in Bor, central South Sudan, on August 8, 2020. (Photo by Akuot Chol/AFP Photo)

Residents of Mathare slum fill bags with coal in hard conditions in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi on November 06, 2023. The coal that workers produce with primitive methods by working overtime in unlicensed workshops is used for heating, cooking and other daily needs. (Photo by Gerald Anderson/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A kingfisher plunged into the water in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK in the first decade of June 2025, to grab a fish for lunch – but its prey twisted free in a last-second escape. (Photo by Alan Benson/Caters News Agency)

A woman carries her child, both wearing traditional red clothes celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok February 19, 2015. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

An effigy representing Judas Iscariot burns as some people wearing masks watch during Holy Week in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Burning of Judas is an Easter-time ritual in many communities, where an effigy of Judas Iscariot is hanged on Good Friday, then burned on Easter Sunday. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)