The Sagrada Familia basilica features sandcastle-like spires, stone carved to look like lush flora, a kaleidoscopic interior and a trove of treasures, some hiding in plain sight. Even regular worshippers at Barcelona's world-famous landmark find themselves dumbstruck with wonder.

Josep Turull, the Catalan rector of the Sagrada Familia and the priest in charge of its parish activities, recently granted The Associated Press a private tour to show off his favorite gems ahead of Pope Leo XIV's highly anticipated Mass on Wednesday night.

Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame on Monday appealed for historic sites to be spared as AFP correspondents saw damage to a World Heritage site in south Lebanon's Tyre after Israeli bombardment.

One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre lies around 20 kilometers from the Israeli border, and its UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins are located in two main areas of the city.

Lebanon's culture minister told AFP on Friday that Israeli strikes on the country's south are putting heritage sites, including in the ancient city of Tyre, in "serious danger".

Lebanese authorities have decried Israeli attacks near UNESCO-protected historic sites and landmarks in the country's south.

Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the second official day of the annual Islamic pilgrimage, considered the pinnacle of Hajj.

Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and the surrounding plains for intense prayers that often mark a spiritual peak. Typically, they fervently murmur prayers and pour their hearts out in supplications, asking God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health. It is common for many pilgrims on that day to raise their hands in worship, with tears streaming down their faces, on the slopes of the rocky hill and in the surrounding area.

Once a year, large numbers of Muslim pilgrims converge in Saudi Arabia, uniting in religious rituals and acts of worship as they perform the Hajj. While fulfilling a religious obligation, they immerse themselves in what can be a spiritual experience of a lifetime for them and a chance to seek God's forgiveness and the erasure of past sins.

This year, the Hajj has been approaching against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related tensions and uncertainty in the Middle East.

Israel on Thursday indicted a Jewish man over a violent attack on a nun near Jerusalem's Old City last week, the latest in a string of high-profile incidents targeting Christians and religious symbols.

The indictment identified the man as Yona Schreiber, 36, from the Israeli-occupied West Bank settlement of Peduel. It comes after a video of the assault received wide condemnation from foreign and Christian leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U.S. President Donald Trump's broadsides against Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the Iran war angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them.

The U.S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican's top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See," and reflected the "enduring partnership" between them.

Trump is renewing his criticism of Pope Leo XIV even as Rubio prepares to visit Vatican City, ostensibly to ease tensions between Washington and the Holy See.

Typically, around 100,000 mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews would gather next week on Mount Meron in northern Israel to celebrate the Lag BaOmer holiday.

However, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the large festival will replaced with a smaller symbolic ceremony, citing concerns about the gathering being attacked by Hezbollah. Similar restrictions were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and previous wars.