Religious Places

• A holy place is a place that people consider holy and/or a religion considers to be of special religious significance.
• A place of worship is a specially designed structure or sacred space where individuals or a group of people come to perform acts of devotion or religious study.
• There are many religions in world and thus religious places according to one’s beliefs.
• For Hindus there are Temples, for Muslims there are Mosques, for Sikhs there are Gurdwaras, for Christians there are Church and many more are there according to one’s religion.

Some religious places are:

Religious Places	Basic Information
Pashupatinath Temple	1. It is a famous and sacred Hindu temple complex that is located on the banks of the Bagmati River, north-east of Kathmandu,Nepal. 2. One of the major Festivals of the temple is Maha Shivaratri on which day over 1 million devotees visit here. 3. The temple is one of the 275 Tamil Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva) on the continent, in Shiva Purana mentions this Shivalinga as the bestower of all wishes.
Masjid al-Haram	1. It is a large mosque in the city of Mecca, and the largest in Islam. 2. It surrounds the Kaaba, the place which all Muslims face each day in prayer, considered by Muslims to be the holiest place on Earth. 3. Its current structure covers an area of 356,800 m2 including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to 820,000 worshipers during the Hajj period.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib	1. It is also called Kartarpur Sahib, is a gurdwara in Kartarpur, Narowal District, Pakistan. 2. The present gurdwara is built on the site where Guru Nanak died, on 22 September 1539. 3. The gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between Pakistan and India.
Shree Siddhivinayak Temple	1. It is dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh. 2. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra. 3. It was originally built by LaxmanVithu and DeubaiPatil on 19 November 1801. 4. It is one of the richest temples in Mumbai.
Ajmer Sharif Dargah	1. The pious Persian Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti who is well-known for its secular preaching is enshrined here. 2. It is believed that a person who prays with a pure heart at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, gets all his or her wishes fulfilled. 3. His shrine was built by Mughal Emperor Humayun. 4. It is situated in Ajmer.
Harmandir Sahib	1. It is a Gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. 2. It is usually called the Golden Temple in English, because it is plated with gold. 3. The Gurdwara sahib is built around a man-made pool (Sarovar) that was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus	1. It is located in Goa, India. 2. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. 3.’Bom Jesus’ (literally, ‘Good (or Holy) Jesus’) is the name used for the Ecce Homo in the countries of Portuguese colonization.
Ranakpur Jain temple	1. It is also called ChaturmukhaDharanavihara is a Jain temple at Ranakpur is dedicated to Tirthankara Rishabhanatha, Rajasthan. 2. Dharna Shah, a local Jain businessperson, started construction of the temple in the 15th century following a divine vision. 3. The Ranakpur temple is one of the largest and most important temples of Jain culture.
The Ajanta Caves	1. These are 30 (approximately) rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India. 2. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotion through gesture, pose and form. 3. The caves were built in two phases, the first phase starting around the 2nd century BCE, while the second phase was built around 400–650 CE.

Some facts:

• Every year, over 2 million Muslims pilgrims visit Mecca, the holy city where the Prophet Muhammad lived.
• Over 30 million people visit the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo annually.
• Jerusalem is considered a sacred city for Muslims,Jews and Christians.
• Abandoned Buddhist temples in Cambodia attract tourists every year.