The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár

‘Ishqábád, Turkmenistan

The first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár was constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century in the city of ‘Ishqábád, which is today the capital of Turkmenistan. The structure was confiscated by Soviet authorities in 1938 and later demolished after being irreparably damaged in an earthquake.

Wilmette, United States

Construction work on the House of Worship in Wilmette, near Chicago, began when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone in 1912, during His visit to the United States. Shoghi Effendi later described the edifice as “the most hallowed Temple ever to be erected by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh and the crowning glory of the first Bahá’í century”.

Kampala, Uganda

Work on the House of Worship in Kampala—the “Mother Temple of Africa”—began in 1957, just before Shoghi Effendi’s death. The edifice was dedicated by his widow, Rúhíyyih Rabbani, in a ceremony in 1961.

Sydney, Australia

Situated in Ingleside, a few kilometres north of the city of Sydney, this House of Worship was dedicated in 1961. The building was designed according to Shoghi Effendi’s instructions; he referred to it as the “Mother Temple of the Antipodes".

Langenhain, Germany

In 1953 Shoghi Effendi called on the Bahá’ís of Germany to build a House of Worship to serve as the Mother Temple of Europe. A site was located some 25 kilometres to the West of Frankfurt. Construction work was completed in 1964.

Panama City, Panama

The Mother Temple of Latin America overlooks Panama City from its location to the north of the city at an altitude of some 225 metres. The cornerstone for the building was laid in 1967, and the edifice was dedicated in 1972.

Apia, Samoa

The foundation stone of this edifice, known as the “Mother Temple of the Pacific Islands” was laid in 1979 by Rúhíyyih Rabbani, representing the Universal House of Justice, and by His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, Head of State of Samoa, the first ruling head of state in the world to become a Bahá’í. Both also participated in the dedication of the House of Worship on 1 September 1984.

New Delhi, India

This House of Worship, located in the outskirts of New Delhi, was dedicated in a ceremony in 1986. By 1992 the Temple had become one of the most visited buildings in India, and by 2007, when it had 4.6 million visitors, one of the most visited buildings in the world.

Santiago, Chile

The project to construct a Bahá’í House of Worship in Chile was announced in 2001. After a design had been chosen from the 185 entries, excavation work on the site began at the end of 2010. Construction of the central edifice and surrounding buildings and gardens was completed in 2016, and the Temple was dedicated on 13 October 2016. It is the eighth and final in a series of Bahá’í Houses of Worship serving an entire continent.