Hindu temple

The Hindu temple is located in the center of the city of Bandar Abbas (Hormozgan region) and was designed and built in 1888 by a group of Indian merchants residing in this city.

The plan of the building of the ancient Hindu temple, also known by the name of Beth Goran, is influenced by the architecture of the Indian places of worship and the beliefs of the worshipers of the Vishnu and Shiva gods of northern India; this is visible in the mihrab (niche) and in decorations.

The materials used in the construction are as follows: crushed stone, mud and cement mortar, coral rocks, earth and plaster. This temple, which in the past had a larger courtyard, has a circular white external facade, grooves and high pinnacles.

The building is a quadrangular room with a dome worked on muqarnas which stands out from other domes of historic buildings in Iran. The temple has 72 turrets adorned with the lotus flower (water lily) and in the center there is a high pin to indicate the earth's axis and the sky.

To the north of the building is the pulpit and the hall of the temple and around four corridors have been built for the circumambulation of the pilgrims and through one of these passages the spiral stairs lead to the roof.

Inside the corridors, small niches have been created to let people rest. The paintings of the building are religious subjects such as the god Khrishna playing the flute. In a corner of the dome there is a large community hall with various frescoes and each of these testifies to the typical philosophy of the many beliefs of the Indian people.

Returning Indians, returning to their country, brought back all the statues in the sanctuary to India.

This temple is an important testimony of the cultural and artistic interaction between Iran and India.