Time For a Little Prayer Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gothic

The Notre Dame cathedral, built on the "Ile de la Cité", an island in the Seine River in Paris, is one of the most famous Gothic churches in the world. Construction of Notre Dame began in 1163 CE and took almost two centuries to complete. It was built on the site of an older church which in its turn was built on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter.

The pointed arches, flying buttresses and vaulted ceilings allow for taller buildings with more light, which is accentuated by stained glass windows.

Answer: Kaaba

The Great Mosque of Mecca, or Masjid Al-Haram, is an Islamic mosque in the center of the holy city of Mecca, western Saudi Arabia. The Mosque contains the Kaaba which, according to the Islamic faith, was built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael, as ordered by Allah. The Kaaba in turn houses the "Black Stone", which is said to have fallen from heaven and has the power to cleanse worshippers from their sins. Even before the rise of Islam the Kaaba was revered as a holy place. Upon his return from exile the prophet Muhammad turned it into a holy site dedicated to Allah and Islam.

Every year during the holy month of Dhu'l-Hijjah, over three million people visit the holy city and the mosque, thereby fulfilling one of the five pillars of islam. Although the mosque has been enlarged it still can barely handle the annual influx of people.

The Great Mosque of Mecca is constructed of marble, porcelain and gold. The interior consists of a number of columned halls filled with tapestries and other decorations. It can only be seen by Muslims as non-Muslims are forbidden to enter Mecca.

The wrong answers are part of the five pillars of Islam: Shahada (declaration of faith), Salat (prayer), zakat (charity), sawm (fasting) and hajj (pilgrimage).

Answer: Romans in 70 CE

Construction of the first temple was started by king David and completed by king Solomon. The temple held the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred vessel which contained the stone tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were written. The temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon around 580 BCE. The fate of the Ark is unknown, but many believe it was brought to safety before the destruction of the temple and is today held by the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia.

The second temple was constructed in Jerusalem around 500 BCE but the wall that still stands today is part of an extension built by Herod the Great in 19 BCE. The second temple was destroyed when the Roman legions sacked Jerusalem in 70 CE, after the Jewish population had rebelled against the Romans four years earlier. The siege of Jerusalem was the decisive event in the first Jewish-Roman war which lasted from 66 to 73 CE.

Answer: Siddharta Gautama

The temple is located in Bodhgaya, near Patna, Bihar state, India. A monastery and shire were constructed at the site 200 years after the death of the Buddha by Ashoka, emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, who ruled most of India at the time. It is said that Ashoka felt so remorseful over the deaths he had caused during the conquest of the neighboring Kalinga Empire that he converted to Buddhism.

Over time many buildings were added. After the site was sacked by Muslims in the 12th century and redesigned as a Hindu monastery in the 16th century, a major restoration of the Buddhist temple began in the 1880s when the area was under British control.

The Mahabodhi is one of the oldest surviving brick buildings in India. The temple consists of a high central tower (about 18 meter - 60 feet in height) surrounded by four smaller towers. Inside sits a large gilded statue of the Buddha where, according to legend, the Buddha was sitting when he achieved enlightenment.

Answer: Varanasi

The Kashi Vishwanat is a golden temple located in the center of Varanasi. It's unknown when the original temple was built but it was destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1669 CE who then replaced it with a Muslim mosque. It was rebuilt in 1776 CE close to its original location. The spire of the new temple is covered by one ton of gold plating and is about 15 meters (50 feet) high.

Varanasi is over 3000 years old. The city is considered the most sacred city to Hinduism because of its location on the Ganges river which, according to the Hindu faith, has the power to wash away sins. Hindus also believe that Varanasi is the home of lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.

Varanasi and the three wrong answers are all part of the Sapta Puri, the seven holy sites in India. The three other holy cities are Haridwar, Kanchipuram and Dwarka.

Answer: Justinian I

The Hagia Sophia ('high Wisdom' in Greek) was constructed between 532 and 537 CE by emperor Justinian I. The construction of the basilica was part of Justinian's ambitious plans to restore the Roman Empire, with Constantinople at its center. The Hagia Sophia was built at the site where two earlier basilicas once stood, after the second one was destroyed during the Nike riots. The Hagia Sophia is considered an architectural masterpiece. The construction of the dome, which measures over 30 m (100 feet) in diameter, was an extremely difficult engineering challenge at the time. The weight of the dome poses a continuous problem for the integrity of the structure. The original copula even collapsed after an earthquake in 558 CE.

For most of the first thousand years of its existence, the Hagia Sophia served as an Eastern Orthodox basilica. Only for a short period (1204 - 1261 CE), after Constantinople was sacked during the fourth crusade, it was turned into a Catholic cathedral. This all changed when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453 CE. The Muslim conquerors added four minarets and the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. Because Sunni Islam doesn't allow the depiction of human images most of the mosaics were covered with plaster. When Kemal Atatürk rose to power in the 1920s Turkey underwent a period of secularization. In 1935, Atatürk turned the mosque into a museum, the status it still holds today. During recent restoration, some of the original mosaics have been uncovered.

Answer: Mount Tai

The five Great Mountains represent each cardinal direction and a central point. Mount Tai is the easternmost of the five Great Mountains, and because of its association with sunrise and birth, considered the most important one. The whole site consists of 22 temples, many more ruins and inscriptions. The largest and most complete temple complex, the Taoist 'Temple of the God of Mount Tai', lies at the foot of the mountain. Those brave enough to climb the 6,000+ stairs can reach the 'Shrine of the Blue Dawn', dedicated to the Goddess Bixia, on the top of the mountain. Other temples at the site include the temple of the Jade King, a temple of Doumu, a Buddhist and a Confucian temple.

Mount Kailash lies in Tibet and is considered a sacred place in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Bon (Tibetan religion). Mount Ararat is the highest mountain in Turkey and by some believed to be the place where Noah's ark was stranded after the flood. Mount Meru is a mythical mountain in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain beliefs.

Answer: Confucius

The Kong Miao, or Temple of Confucius, is located in Qufu, Shandong Province, China, the birthplace of the famous philosopher. Confucius is the anglicized name of Kong Qui. During his lifetime, Confucius was relatively unknown in most of China. The temple was built by a local ruler in 478 BCE, when Confucius had already passed away. Today there are numerous temples dedicated to Confucius across China.

As time passed the fame of Confucius started to spread. Confucianism became the dominant ideology during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). During the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 CE) Confucianism developed into a philosophy that competed for influence with Buddhism and Taoism. Confucian principles were the basis of the examination system for the civil service in China until 1905.

Answer: Sikhism

Sikhism was founded in the 15th century CE by Guru Nanak Dev, the first of the ten Sikh gurus. Today Sikhism has about 25 to 28 million followers, most of them live in India's Punjab region. Unlike Hinduism, the Sikhs believe in only one god. There are five items each Sikh always have to wear. The so called five Ks are: kesh (long hair), kangha (comb), kara (bracelet), kachera (type of underwear) and kirpan (dagger).

Although better known as 'Golden Temple' the actual name of the temple is 'Sri Harmandir Sahib'. The city of Amritsar was founded in 1577 CE by guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru. Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, ordered the construction of the Harmandir Sahib in its center. The temple houses the largest free community kitchen in the world, open to visitors of all faiths. In 1984, the temple was heavily damaged in an operation organised by the Indian government to regain control over the temple, which was occupied by militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers. Six months after the operation Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards as retaliation for the assault on the temple. This in its turn led to anti-Sikh riots in which an estimate of 8,000 Sikhs were killed.

Answer: Salisbury

The building of Salisbury Cathedral started in 1220 CE and was completed in less then 50 years, a relatively short period for a medieval church. Salisbury Cathedral doesn't only have the tallest spire in the UK (123 m - 404 ft), but also the oldest working clock (1386 CE) in the world.

Salisbury cathedral's most prized possession is no doubt one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta. Two others are held by the British Library and Lincoln Cathedral each.