Publisher Description

Temples have been places of worship, a focus for spirituality and a place for communities to gather since the earliest days of human civilisation. The first temples date back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, deriving from the cult of deities and residing places for gods and immortals. Today, temple buildings remain lively focal points for the Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh religions.Organised by continent, Amazing Temples of the World offers the reader an intimate portrait of some spectacular and unusual places of worship dating from the fourth millennium BCE to the present.Ornate or spartan, immense or intimate, from the Middle East to California, this book features such impressive places of worship as the Mahabodi Temple, India, built in the location where Buddha is thought to have achieved enlightenment; the fifth century BCE Temple of Confucius in Qufu, China, the largest Confucian temple in the world; Abu Simbel, in southern Egypt, the great carved monument to the Pharaoh Ramses II; the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, the spiritual home of the world's 25 million Sikhs; and the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden, London, the biggest Hindu temple outside India.Illustrated with more than 180 photographs, Amazing Temples of the World includes more than 150 places of worship, from Ancient Greece and Rome, through traditional synagogues to modern Buddhist, Taoist and Sikh temples.

Author Biography

Michael Kerrigan was educated at St. Edward's College and University College, Oxford, England. He is the author of The History of Death, A Dark History: The Roman Emperors, Ancients In Their Own Words, World War II Plans That Never Happened, and American Presidents: A Dark History. He is a columnist, book reviewer, and feature writer for publications including the Scotsman and the Times Literary Supplement. Michael Kerrigan lives with his family in Edinburgh.

Table of Contents

Contents EUROPE: Greco-Roman temples:
Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens
Erechtheum, Acropolis, Athens
Temple of Hephaestus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Apollo, Delphi
Temple of Apollo Epicurius, Peloponnese, Greece
Temple of Poseidon, Sounion, Greece
Valley of the Temples, Sicily
Doric Temple of Segesta, Sicily
Paestum, Italy
Temple of Apollo, Pompeii, Naples, Italy
Pantheon, Rome
Maison Carree, Nimes, France
Augustus, Pula, Croatia
Garni Temple, Armenia
Augustus and Livia, Vienne, France
Zeus, Aizanoi, Turkey
Neasden Temple, London
Guru Singh Sabba Gurdwara, Southall, England
Birmingham Buddhist Vihara Synagogues:
Great Synagogue, Budabest
Old New Synagogue, Prague
Spanish Synagogue, Prague
Jubilee Synagogue, Prague
Grand Choral Synagogue,St. Petersburg
New Synagogue, Berlin
Ohel Jakob, Munich
Ulm Synagogue, Germany
Leopoldstädter Tempel, Vienna
Roonstrasse Synagogue, Cologne
Sofia Synagogue, Bulgaria Subotica Synagogue, Serbia
Tempio Maggiore, Florence
New West End Synagogue, London ASIA:
Indian Subcontinent:
Lotus Temple, Delhi
(Bahai) Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Amman Temple, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka
Varadharaja Perumal Temple
Brihadishwara Temple
Khajuraho
Annamalaiyar Temple
Jagannath Temple, Puri
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
Virupaksha Temple, Hampi
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai
Ramanathaswamy Temple, Tamil Nadu
Akshardham Temple, Delhi
Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi
Bodh Gaya, Bihar (Buddhist)
Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India (Buddhist)
Mahabodhi Temple
Kailashnath Temple, Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India
Peace Pagoda, Sri Lanka
Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir Sikh Gurdwaras:
Sri Harmandir Sahib, Golden Temple, Amritsar
Sri Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar
Gurdwara Data Bandi Chhod Sahib, Gwalior
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Delhi
Patna Sahib, Patna
Hazur Sahib, Nanded
Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Myanmar:
Phowintaung Caves, Monywa
Bagan
Taung Kalat
Shwedagon Pagoda (or Golden Pagoda)
Bezeklik Caves, Xinjiang, China Thailand:
Temple of Reclining Buddha, Bangkok
Wat Paphukon, Udonthani, Thailand
Sirindhorn Wararam Phu Prao Temple, Chong Mek
Wat Benchamabophit, Bangkok
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Wat Arun, Bangkok
White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)
Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai
Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayuuhaya
Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew)
Sanctuary of Truth, Pattaya
Wat Huai Pla Kung
Wat Phra That Lampang Luang
Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Bangkok (Hindu) Laos:
Wat Xieng Thong
Pha That Luang ('Great Stupa in Lao')
Cambodia: Ankor Wat
Banteay Srei Vietnam:
Trn Qu'c Pagoda, Hanoi
Bu Long Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh city
Indonesia:
Prambanan, Java
Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia
Tanah Lot, Bali
Uluwatu, Bali
Ulun Danu Beratan, Bali
Besakih, Bali
Goa Gajah, Bali
Taman Ayun, Bali
Goa Lawah, Bali Malaysia:
Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang
Thean Hou Temple, Kuala Lumpur
Batu Caves
Sri Mahamariamman Temple, KL
Thean Hou Temple
Khoo Kongsi Temple, Penang Singapore:
Bright Hill Temple
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
Leong San See
Thian Hock Keng China:
Mount Qingcheng, Sichuan
Wudang Mountains, Hubei
Qingyang Palace, Sichuan
Erwang Temple, Yulei Mountain, Sichuan
Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi
Celestial Master Palace on Mount Heming, Chengdu
Golden Temple, Kunming
Qiyun Mountain China
Tayun Mountain
Qingcheng Mountain
Jade Maiden Peak
Mount Hua Skywalk, Hua
Shan Mountain, Huayin, Shaanxi Province
Dagaoxuan Hall, Forbidden City, Beijing
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
White Cloud Taoist Temple, Beijing Hong Kong:
Man Mo Temple (Taoist)
Bhutan/Tibet:
Paro Taktsang, Bhutan
Kye Gompa monastery
Jokhang Temple, Lahsa
Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal South Korea:
Haeinsa (Temple of Reflection on a Smooth Sea) Japan:
Seiganto-ji
Horyu-ji, Nara
Tenryu-ji Temple
Todaiji ("Great Eastern Temple")
Nanzen-ji Temple
Tofuku-ji Temple NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA:
T'ien Hau Temple, LA, USA
Hindu Temple of Florida
Malibu Hindu Temple, USA
Swami Narayan Mandir, Georgia
Gurdwara Sahib, San Jose, California, USA
Byodo-In Temple, in O'ahu's Valley of the Temples, Hawaii
Eldridge Street Synagogue, New York
Congregation Mickve Israel, Savannah, Georgia, USA Canada:
Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Toronto
Sridurka Hindu Temple, Toronto
Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre of Windsor
Akali Singh Sikh Temple, Vancouver
Mayan temples: Chichen Itza, Mexico
Teotihuacan, Mexico Tulum, Mexico
Monte Alban, Mexico
Palenque, Mexico
Uxmal, Mexico
Calakmul, Mexico
Ek Balam, Mexico
Tula, Mexico Incan temples:
Temple of the Sun, Machu Picchu
Koricancha Temple in Cusco Quenko, near Cusco
Pisac in the Sacred Valley Pachacamac near Lima Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, Willemstad, Curaçao AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST:
Greco-Roman:
Palmyra, Syria
Sbeitla forum, Tunisia
Baalbek (Heliopolis), Lebanon Tunisia:
El Ghibra Synagogue, Djerba Israel:
Jerusalem Great Synagogue Iran:
Fire Temple of Yazd Egypt:
Luxor Temple
Abu Simbel
Karnak
Medinet Habu
Kom Ombo
Philae, Aswan
Edfu
Dendera
Seti I, Abydos
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut South Africa:
Durban Hindu Temple
Shree Ayyappa Kshetram Centurion
Clairwood Shree Siva Soobramoniar Temple
Mariamman Temple Pretoria

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Photographic guide to the world's temples from ancient Egypt to the Far East

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