The new Hindu temple in Jebel Ali will officially open on October 4, a day before the Hindu festival of Dusheera. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
As part of a soft opening to test the facilities, worshippers have been allowed in to pray over the past few weeks.
The new temple was built thanks to the efforts of Vasu Shroff, an 82-year-old businessman.
Online registrations are required for residents and tourists to control crowds.
A pink lotus is a symbol of peace in the main prayer hall of the Hindu temple in Dubai.
Final touches add a sheen to hand-carved pillars decorated with bells, flowers and elephants, as well as marble floor inlays of emerald and saffron.
Land for the temple was approved in 2019 and construction began a year later in the Jebel Ali area, which houses six churches and a Sikh temple.
Completed ahead of schedule, the temple was constructed within the Dh65 million ($17.69m) budget, with the community pitching in with financial support and volunteering.
Vashu Shroff, right, with his son Raju.
The Hindu temple already figures among Dubai’s must-see tourist spots.
The entrance of the temple.
Deities have been selected from across northern and southern India, covering different sects of the Hindu religion.
A man prays at the entrance of the temple.
Unlike the two older temples in Old Dubai housed inside buildings, the new structures stand out with ornate pillars, Arabic and Hindu geometric designs on the facade and 105 bells on the ceiling, leading to a massive prayer space with a pink lotus unfurled across the skylight.
