Muslim girls are seen after prayers, in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, July 31, 2020. Small groups of pilgrims performed one of the final rites of the Islamic hajj on Friday as Muslims worldwide marked the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday amid a global pandemic that has impacted nearly every aspect of this year's pilgrimage and celebrations. The last days of hajj coincide with the four-day Eid al-Adha, or “Feast of Sacrifice”, in which Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor. (Photo by Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)

Michael Olivant, a Times reader, saw a chance to contribute when a Dalmatian pelican landed on his wife’s head at Lake Kerkini in northern Greece in the first decade of February 2025. (Photo by Michael Olivant/The Times)

Families and children play at Brimham Rocks during their half term break in North Yorkshire, UK on February 18, 2025. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times & Sunday Times)

Pope Benedict XVI arrives at the Santa Sabina Basilica for the Ash Wednesday service on March 9, 2011 in Rome, Italy. Ash Wednesday opens the liturgical 40-day period of Lent, a period of prayer, fasting, penitence and alms giving leading up to Easter.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives at the Christchurch Airport on June 7, 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Dalai Lama requested a visit to Christchurch ahead of his Australian tour to see damaged caused by the February earthquake that devastated the city. He will speak and offer prayers at a free public event at Canterbury Arena on Wednesday. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

Latin dancing featured on the opening day of the 98th Blackpool Dance Festival in the Empress Ballroom in the city’s Winter Gardens on May 28, 2024. (Photo by James Glossop/ The Times & Sunday Times)

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)

Mira Saville, 11, spins in her petticoat on the sand at the Nashuva Spiritual Community Jewish New Year celebration on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, United States September 14, 2015. As Jews take part in the Tashlich prayer, a Rosh Hashanah ritual, bread crumbs are tossed into the waters to symbolically cast away sins. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)