More than a quarter of all people in the world belong to Eastern religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism. These people worship in temples, which are architecturally as diverse as the religions are different from each other. From the Gaudi’s Temple de la Sagrada Familia to the distinctly modern Baha’i Lotus Temple, 8 Amazing Temples Around the WorldShwezigon Paya Zedi
The Shwezigon Paya (pagoda, stupa or zedi), was built during the reign of King Anawrahta (1044-1077) and is one of the Bagan area’s, and Myanmar’s, most significant religious structures. Located four miles northeast of Old Bagan, it served as a prototype for many later stupas built throughout Myanmar. The Shwezigon is also a major national center of worship. Pilgrims come from many parts of Myanmar for its festival held during the Burmese month of Nadaw (November/December) both because of its historic character and because of its religious significance for Burmese Buddhism. While the Shwezigon was one of the earliest symbols of the triumph of the ‘purified’ Theravada Buddhism, it was also the first pagoda to allow ‘nat’ images – pre-Buddhist spirits who had the power to do good or evil- within its walls.
St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square is Moscow’s most famous tourist attraction.It was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again. (He did in fact go on to build another cathedral in Vladimir despite his ocular impediment!) The cathedral was built to commemorate Ivan the Terrible’s successful military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in 1552 in the besieged city of Kazan.
The Bahá’í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá’í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.
La Sagrada Familia is one of Gaudi’s most famous works in Barcelona. It’s a giant temple that has been under construction since 1882 and it’s not expected to be completed for between 30 to 80 years Much controversy surrounds the building of the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi played an active role in directing the construction of the Sagrada Familia until his death in 1926. He would often request that work be modified and adjusted until it was exactly what he had in mind. However today, because of the nature of the existing designs, his work is partly open to interpretation.
Akshardham is a Hindu temple complex in Delhi, India. Also referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex displays millennia of traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture. The building was inspired and moderated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose 3,000 volunteers helped 7,000 artisans construct Akshardham.
Murudeshwara temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, lies in the holy beach town in the Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. The statue of Shiva here is the world’s tallest, 123 feet (37 m) in height, took about 2 years to build and it lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea.
The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is the largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and one of the largest mosques in the world. It was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 to 1993 when overtaken in size by the completion of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.Subsequent expansions of the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Medina, Saudi Arabia during the 1990s relegated Faisal Mosque to fourth place in terms of size.Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan. It has a covered area of 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft) and has a capacity to accommodate approximately 300,000 worshippers (100,000 in its main prayer hall, courtyard and porticoes and another 200,000 in its adjoining grounds).
The Hassan II Mosque located in Casablanca is the largest mosque in Morocco and the fifth largest mosque in the world. Designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau and built by Bouygues. It stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic, which can be seen through a gigantic glass floor with room for 25,000 worshippers. A further 80,000 can be accommodated in the mosque’s adjoining grounds for a total of 105,000 worshippers present at any given time at the Hassan II mosque. Its minaret is the world’s tallest at 210 m (689 ft).