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| The view of the Golden Temple as you enter |
I have to say, the
Golden Temple was my number 2 on my bucket list, and I am so glad I was able to experience this magnificent and holy place. This Sikh Gurdwara is the resting place for the Adi Granth, the holy scriptures for the Sikhs.
This temple, in keeping with the Sikh faith, is open to people of all religions, race, creed or financial status. You must remove your shoes and men must wear trousers, and women must not be scantily clad. There is a shoe drop off a few hundred yards away from the East entrance and you walk along woven mats to stave off the heat of the pavement. I'm sure each entrance has a place to leave your shoes. Everyone must cover their head. We were sold some basic orange head wear as we parked our car in the nice parking deck a few blocks away. We took a ricksha to the shoe drop off and walked from there.
You are surrounded by whitewashed buildings and marble under your feet, which thankfully stays cooler than you would think even when it was 105 degrees! You must walk clockwise to get to the queue that will allow you to see everything. The queue is long, but moves well and there are fans and a canopy to protect you from the sun.
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| in the queue |
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| another view of the Harmandir Sahib as you walk around |
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| large carp welcome you to the Sarovar, or Holy Tank |
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| One of the Holy Trees, or bers, signifying a historical event or Sikh saint |
As we were able to pay our respects at the Harmandir Sahib, the music coming from inside was inspiring. It never ceases to amaze me that these truly Holy sites are a place where every man, woman or child, no matter what you believe in, should visit to contemplate life and a to be better human being. You don't have to give up
your faith, you don't have to start believing if you now don't, you just have to share and respect others. An I thank my Sikh friends for allowing me to share in their lives.
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| The top of the Akal Takht, which means "The throne of the timeless one" |
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| wonderful architecture all around you |
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