Jain Meeting Hall at the Met

Despite its size, the Metropolitan Museum of Art isn't known for its Asian holdings. Of course, what it does have beats most museums, and since most visitors justifiably spend their time on Picasso, Washington Crossing the Delaware, and Dendur, the Asian galleries tend to be empty. It's an excellent way to escape the crowds.

At first glance, the Jain Meeting Hall looks like nothing so much as a lot of dark wood. Look again: this 16th-century temple from Gujarat, India, features extraordinary carvings of people and gods. Go ahead and stare, in fact, craning your neck to peer further and deeper into the crevasses. As a religious building, it's meant to be contemplated intensely and silently.