I must admit, I don't have the worst job in the world. Yesterday, my job was to entertain some customers in the Barcelona area as we prepare to meet with them formally at Mobile World Congress; the largest mobile and telecom show globally. As part of the tour, I got tickets to see Basilica Sagrada Familia Cathedral, the exterior of which is shown in the photo below.

This church is an amazing work of passion, by likely tens of thousands of people, that has been under construction since the first stone was laid 1882. It was an initiative led by Josep Maria Bocabella who had a vision of building a church so grand that it would re-unite the catholic people who were disillusioned in a spiritual crisis following the french influence on Spain after the French Revolution and the cultural changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

I had been to the basilica several times but I had never been inside - this time, to treat our customers, we bought tickets to tour the inside as well as take an elevator ride up one of the tall towers that can bee seen in the photo above.

In the picture above, you can see my boss Benjamin, in front, followed by Jeff and Tim, our customers, behind him. We are actually on a bridge that joins the two towers on the right side of the initial picture.

The Sagrada Familia is often associated with Antonio Guadi, a Spanish architect famous for many buildings and other structures in the Barcelona area. Guadi's work is extremely distinctive with its curved lines and natural imagery; an example of which is shown below. He believed that his architecture should limit the use of straight lines since straight lines are the work of man while curved lines are associated with nature the work and hand of God. 

Guadi was commissioned by many of Barcelona's upper class and local government to design other buildings in the area but in 1914, he dedicated all of his work and time to Sagrada Familia. While the overall vision and the Nativity Facade (east side) was largely Gaudi's work, his death in 1926 required others to continue the project.

Without boring you with too many more details, I want to pass on just some of the amazing sights and work that you can see on both the interior and the exterior of the basilica. 

Above: Depicts the Massacre of the Innocents when Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews, ordered the death of all boys, 2 years old and younger. According to the gospel, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.

Above: The Three Wise Men bearing gifts.   Below: The birth of Christ.

Inside the basilica is equally as mesmerizing and beautiful. We happened to be inside on a sunny day and the light shining through the stained glass was amazing.

Outside, on the western facade, the Passion is depicted and the sculpture work is chiseled and stark reflecting the pain and suffering that Jesus, Mary and others endured. Also, in the picture below, Veronica is shown holding the cloth with which she used to wipe the blood from Jesus' face.

What is depicted in the shots above is but a fraction of the detail that is portrayed inside and outside the basilica. It is truly an amazing work of passion and art. It is funded primarily through donations and ticket sales which also explains the length of time that has been taken for construction.

Below: Looking up from the bridge between the towers, approximately 2/3 of the way up, to the remaining 70 meters still above us. 

Below: A view of Barcelona, looking southeast, from one of the basilica's towers.

A 3rd construction, the Glory Facade, only began development in 2002 and is still underway. Whether you are Catholic, a Christian or neither, the architecture, the sculpture work and the stained glass of Basilica Sagrada Familia is something to behold.

If you ever make your way to the region, I urge you to go by and to purchase tickets in advance to go inside as the line-up is about 3 blocks long if you try to buy tickets onsite.

Those who know me know that I am not a religious person, but I am an engineer, and a man of vision and passion. To see the work that was started here by Bocabella and Gaudi, and continued by so many dedicated volunteers, fund-raisers, architects, engineers, craftsmen, and construction workers, is truly both humbling and breathtaking and, in my opinion, deserves to be called one of the wonders of the world.