Quiz on places of worship

Piety and prayer

1 This structure is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Moat. It was built between 1555 and 1561 to commemorate the capture of Kazan and is today the most visible symbol of its city. By what name is the cathedral more commonly known and in which city does it stand?

2 The first such house of worship was built in the early 20th century in Ishqabad, Turkmenistan. There are eight more such places around the world where all faiths are allowed to worship. The one in India, designed by Fariborz Sahba, was completed in 1986. Which is the faith?

3 Worshippers visiting the Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh gurudwara in Talhan village in Jalandhar district usually offer a certain toy in the temple. What kind of toy would you see there?

4 What did a multinational team of over a 1,000 move 200m back and 65m up between 1964 and 1968?

5 The flags of two nations feature places of worship. One of them is Afghanistan, which features a mosque. Which is the other, also an Asian nation, and which specific place of worship does it feature?

6 The Pythia was the High Priestess in the legendary temple of Delphi, the famous oracle of classical Greece. The temple was dedicated to the worship of which god?

7 Which famous monument served as a cathedral between AD 537 and 1453, became a mosque between 1453 and 1931 and was then converted to a museum in 1935?

8 The Batu Caves, a series of temples carved in limestone, are a popular tourist attraction in Gombak, Malaysia. To which god are the temples dedicated?

9 Which creature, usually not welcome in places of worship, would you see in the thousands at the Karni Mata temple in Deshnoke, Bikaner?

10 Which place of worship, completed in 1604, is regarded as having the largest free kitchen in the world serving between one and three lakh visitors daily?

Answers

1. St Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow. The onion-shaped domes are unmistakable

2. The Baha’i faith

3. Aeroplanes. The gurudwara is very popular among followers who want to emigrate

4. The Temples of Abu Simbel. The project was executed by Unesco

5. Cambodia, the Angkor Wat

6. Apollo. The temple was destroyed by emperor Theodosius in the fourth century

7. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1,000 years

8. Lord Murugan

9. Rats, they are believed to be the reincarnation of Karni Mata’s sons

10. The Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple in Amritsar

_{Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup; Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj}