About Bahá'í Temples:

Bahá'í Houses of Worship are located in every continent, except Antarctica. The building style for these temples can differ, but one characteristic of each temple is that the building must be 9-sided having 9 doors or entrances, should have a dome, and be surrounded by gardens and walks as an integral part of the design. The design of each Temple relates to the climate, environment and culture of the area where it is built.

This is to show that everyone is welcome to enter them. The Temples are not just for Bahá'ís, but are open to all.

For examples of some of the Bahá'í Writings about Houses of Worship,    click here.
 

The Bahá'í Temple in Santiago, Chile
The erection of the Mother Temple of South America in Santiago, Chile, will commence shortly. It will be situated 35 km southeast of the centre of the city of Santiago, on a plain at an elevation of 620 m, at the foot of the Andes Mountains.  Visit the site plans for this new Temple at http://temple.cl.bahai.org/  the site of the Comunidad Bahá'í de Chile.  See also the Baha'i World News Service announcement at http://news.bahai.org/story/223 , and a later story at http://news.bahai.org/story/369  . A satellite view of the planned site is available on Google Earth at latitude 33-00-02 S, longitude 70-39-09 E.

The Bahá'í Temple in Bahapour, India (1986)
The Mother Temple of the Sub-continent of India is the House of Worship that has been most recently dedicated. Located in Bahapour, just south of New Delhi, India, the foundation stone was laid in October 1977, and the dedication was on 24 December 1986. For more on this Temple, visit their web site www.bahaindia.org/temple/index.html   A satellite view is available on Google Earth at latitude 28-33-12 N, longitude 77-15-30 E. 

The Bahá'í Temple in Western Samoa (1979)
The Bahá'í Temple of the Pacific Ocean. Located in Apia, Western Samoa, the foundation stone was laid January 1979, and the dedication was on 1 September 1984.  To visit their web site, go to  http://www.bahaitemplesamoa.ws/ . To see a recent story on this Temple, visit http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=337 .  A satellite view is available on Google Earth at latitude 13-53-48 S, longitude 171-46-42 W.

The Bahá'í Temple in Panama City, Panama (1972)
The Mother Temple of Latin America. It is situated at Cerro Sonsonati, near Panama City, Panama. Its foundation stone was laid in October 1967, and it was dedicated on 29 April 1972. Visit their web site at http://oalexis.free.fr/panamabahai/index.html    A cloud obscured satellite view of the site is available on Google Earth at latitude 9-03-35 N, longitude 79-03-35 W.

The Bahá'í Temple in Frankfurt, Germany (1964)
The Mother Temple of Europe. Located in Langenhain, near Frankfurt an Main, Germany, its foundation stone was laid in November 1960, and it was dedicated on 4 July 1964. For more on this Temple, visit their web site (in German, with directions to the Temple also in English) at  http://www.bahai.de/haus-der-andacht/.  A satellite view is available on Google Earth at latitude 50-06-47 N, longitude 8-23-49 E.

The Bahá'í Temple in Sydney, Australia (1961)
The Mother Temple of the Antipodes. Situated in Mona Vale, just outside Sydney, Australia, its foundation stone was laid in March 1958, and was dedicated on 15 September 1961. Visit their web site at www.au.bahai.org/ . A satellite view is available on Google Earth at latitude 33-41-08 S, longitude 151-15-31 E.
 

The Bahá'í Temple in Uganda, Africa (1961)
The Mother Temple of Africa. Situated on Kikaya Hill on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, its foundation stone was laid in January 1958, and was dedicated on 13 January 1961.  A satellite view is available on Google Earth at latitude 0-21-52 N, longitude 32-35-19 E.
 

The Bahá'í Temple in Wilmette, U.S.A. (1953)
The Mother Temple of the West. Situated in Wilmette, just north of Chicago, U.S.A, its foundation stone was laid by `Abdu'l-Bahá on 1 May 1912, and was dedicated on 1 May 1953. For more on this Temple, visit their website at www.us.bahai.org/how/ .  A satellite view is available on Google Earth at latitude 42-04-28 N, longitude 87-41-04 W.
 

The Bahá'í Temple in Ishqabad, Turkmenistan (1902)
The first Bahá'í Temple was built in 1902, but in 1928 was expropriated by the authorities as a result of a law expropriating all religious edifices and in 1938 was converted into an art gallery. In 1948 a violent earthquake caused major structural damage which led to its demolition by government order in 1963.

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