ABU DHABI – By 2020, UAE’s Abu Dhabi will be hosting the first traditionalHindu stone temple in the Middle East which will be hand carved and craftedby temple artisans in India and assembled in the UAE.
The architecture will be inspired by the Akshardham Temple in New Delhi,reported The Nationallink>newspaperon Thursday.
The temple will be located just off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway. Somefeatures the holy landmark will encompass are visitors’ prayer halls,exhibitions, learning areas, a sports area for children, thematic gardens,water features and a book shop.
The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha have been entrusted to design, construct andmanage the temple by the rulers of the UAE and the Government of India.
The temple will stand on 55,000 square meters of land. The spacious areawas a gift from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayedal-Nahyan.
On Sunday, the temple’s groundbreaking ceremony will be livestreamed at theDubai Opera House with the presence of the Indian premier Narendra Modi.
His visit comes in light of the sixth edition of the World GovernmentSummit set to take place in Dubai.
A spokesman from BAPS said that temple “will facilitate the traditionalpractice of the Hindu faith and serve the over 3.3 million Indians residingin and the millions of international tourists annually visiting the UAEthrough interfaith dialogue, pluralism and universal human values.
It will also nurture the children of today and future generations towardsa brighter future.”