My Eyes Adored You Trivia Quiz

Answer: Antoni Gaudi

Gaudi joined the Sagrada Familia project in 1883, about a year after it had started. It became his project, and the focus of his work until his death in 1926, with the church only about a quarter finished. In 2015 it passed the two-thirds mark. The building was consecrated in 2010, meaning it could be used for services even though construction was not yet complete. The distance shot used in the quiz allows you to see how Sagrada Familia dominates the area, and somewhat obscures the scaffolding and cranes that still surrounded it. Since many of Gaudio's original plans were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, there is some controversy as to whether or not the final church will in fact be what he envisioned, but it is definitely an amazing structure!

The others are also architects of prominent buildings: I M Pei designed the Louvre Pyramid, Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum (NY), and Frank Gehry the Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao).

Answer: Saint Basil's Cathedral

Since 1928 the cathedral originally built in the 16th century at the orders of Ivan the Terrible, and then called Trinity Church, has been turned into a museum (although occasional services have been allowed since 1991). It started out as eight small churches arranged around a larger central church, which was called the Church of the Intercession.

The final addition was the vault erected over the grave of Vasily the Blessed (also known as Basil Fool for Christ), from which the popular name has arisen.

The church has little obvious connection with any other Russian architecture, or, indeed, with other trends of the time. The arrangement of different heights for the towers is said to reflect flames leaping to the sky; bricks, then a new technology, were used structurally when possible, and layered over the stone which was necessary for some portions.

The church has always been multi-coloured, but originally it was pretty much just red, white and gold. Developments in ceramics during the 17th century led to the inclusion of many more colours during renovations of the original structure.

Answer: Greek Orthodox Christians

The name Hagia Sophia is a transliteration of the Greek name, meaning Holy Wisdom, for the church built in Istanbul (then, of course, Constantinople) at the instruction of the Roman Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. The basilica was the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople from 537 until 1204; from 1204 until 1261 it was a Roman Catholic cathedral; it returned to Greek Orthodox control until 1453, when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople and transformed it into a mosque.

In 1935 the Turkish government officially secularised the building, and opened it as a museum and historical site.

Answer: Anglican

Tradition stemming from around the fourth century holds that this church is built where Jesus was crucified, and where he rose from the dead. (This quiz is not a suitable place to enter into the lengthy debate as to the historical and geographical accuracy of that tradition. That dispute has led most Protestant groups, including Anglicans, to reject the claim that either the crucifixion or the resurrection took place here.) According to the tradition, as Constantine was building the church to replace an earlier Roman temple to Aphrodite, his mother found a piece of the True Cross and a nearby tomb.

The church was built as two separate but connected churches, one on each site. The original was pretty much destroyed early in the 11th century, but was rebuilt by 1050. Over the centuries, there have been regular restorations and renovations undertaken.

It has been a major destination for pilgrims over the centuries. The modern complex built around the original church has areas designated to be under the care of one or more of the various groups with a stake in the site, including those listed in the incorrect options.

Answer: Dome of the Rock

Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (a name which translates as the Noble Sanctuary), built in the 7th century on the site believed to have been originally occupied by Solomon's Temple, is believed by Muslims to mark the spot whence Muhammad ascended to receive instructions directly from Allah, in what is termed 'Isra and Mi'raj', the Night Journey. According to the Qur'an and Hadith, on this single miraculous night Muhammad rode from the Great Mosque in Mecca to "the furthest mosque" (traditionally held to be this site in Jerusalem), a journey called al-Isra. After leading a prayer session, he experienced the mi'raj, a direct meeting with Allah which resulted in his return with extensive messages to pass on.

When Jerusalem was captured by Christian Crusaders in 1099, the building was turned into a church, but that only lasted until Saladin recaptured the city in 1187. The shrine is basically octagonal, with a large wooden dome whose gold color makes it really stand out. The interior of the shrine has been extensively decorated over the years with gorgeous mosaics of glass, marble, and glazed tiles. The 17th surah of the Qur'an, which described the Night Journey, is inscribed on the walls above the decorations.

Answer: Solomon

The Great Synagogue is located on King George Street, in central Jerusalem, and not on Temple Mount (currently the site of the Dome of the Rock) where Solomon's original temple is thought to have been located (although there is some dispute about exactly where it was). That temple had a stormy history, being finally destroyed about 500 years after its original construction.

It was replaced by the Second Temple, under the orders of Cyrus the Great, which survived until the first century CE. When it was decided to build a large new temple in Jerusalem during the 20th century, its design was chosen in tribute to the heritage of the city. Seating 1400 people, the Great Synagogue was dedicated in 1982.

Answer: Hajj

The Five Pillars of Islam (at least, according to Sunni Muslims; other groups use different terms and have slightly different requirements) are Shahada (statement of faith), Salat (daily prayer routine), Zakat (charitable donations of money), Sawm (fasting, most notably the ritual fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

While pilgrimages at any time of the year are also encouraged, the Hajj must be undertaken so that the pilgrim will be in Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, and follow a prescribed routine that includes circling the Kaaba seven times, and touching it. According to the Qu'ran, the Black Stone which is embedded in the Kaaba is the last remnant of the house built by Abraham and Ishmael.

The Great Mosque was built around the Kaaba, to reclaim it from pagan use, in 630.

It has since been renovated and extended, and now the mosque covers nearly 400,000 square metres (nearly 90 acres), including the indoor and outdoor spaces, and can hold around two million people.

Answer: New Delhi, India

The Hindi word 'Akshardham' means an abode of God, and this complex, dedicated to the life and teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781- 1830), includes a Hindu temple ('mandir') constructed entirely of local pink sandstone from the Indian state of Rajastan and white Italian marble. It features over 20,000 murtis (statues of deities or revered people), including a 3.4m murti of Swaminarayan, surrounded by murtis depicting many of the faith's gurus. Around the base of the mandir is the Gajendra Peeth, featuring carvings of 148 life-sized elephants involved in a series of legendary incidents.

Swaminarayan Akshardham opened in 2005, and was declared in 2007 (by the Guinness Records people) to be the world's largest akshardham. While this claim has been disputed by three temples in Tamil Nadu (who argue that the wrong criteria were applied, and each of them feels they have a better right to the title according to their chosen way of measuring size), it is certainly one of the largest, and quite an impressive place to visit.

Answer: Cambodia

Angkor Wat, considered the epitome of classic Khmer architecture, was originally built in the early part of the 12th century as a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Vishnu. Near the end of the century, the new king (who was only the second Khmer ruler to be a Buddhist) changed its dedication, and it became the Buddhist temple which it still is.

The modern name translates literally as City Temple grounds (it was part of the Khmer capital city), reflecting the impressive size of the complex, which covers over 160 hectares (400 acres) within its 3.5 km (2.2 mile) wall and external moat.

The central portion is made up of five towers, arranged to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Hindu mythology. The three rectangular galleries (added after the original central towers) represent the surrounding mountains; the higher one goes, the closer one gets to the gods - laity only had access to the outermost and lowest gallery, although contemporary visitors can see them all.

Answer: Buddhism

Borobudur, built in the 9th century by Mahayana Buddhists, and abandoned in the 14th century when Java became a primarily Islamic region, is an amazing structure. The entire temple can be considered a stupa (which means a hemispherical or bell-shaped structure, usually containing a relic of Buddha or of some other holy figure, designed as a place of contemplation), built of a series of nine platforms as a stepped pyramid, with the lower six platforms being square (the largest about 120m on each side), and the top three circular to produce the appropriate curved profile, with a dome on the top. Decorations include several thousand carved panels depicting the life of Buddha, and 72 bell-shaped stupas (each containing a seated statue of Buddha) like those shown in the photograph.

The temple was left overgrown by the jungle for hundreds of years, although local stories carried on knowledge of its existence, before it was rediscovered in 1814 by a Dutch engineer named Cornelius, who had been sent to find it by the British Governor-General, Thomas Stamford Raffles. Full restoration did not take place until the end of the 20th century, but was essentially complete when UNESCO declared Borobudur a World Heritage Site in 1991.