Sun temple

The Temple of the Sun in Beijing, China, was built in 1530 during the Ming dynasty by the Jiajing Emperor, together with new temples dedicated to the Earth and the Moon, and an expansion of the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of the Sun was used by the imperial court for elaborate acts of worship involving fasting, prayers, dancing and animal sacrifices, as part of a year-long cycle of ceremonies involving all the temples. An important element was the colour red, which was associated with the Sun, including red utensils for food and wine offerings, and red clothes for the emperor to wear during the ceremonies. ==Egypt==

In ancient Egypt, there were a number of sun temples. Among these old monuments is the Great Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel, and complexes built by the Fifth Dynasty, of which only two examples survive, that of Userkaf and of Niuserre. The Fifth Dynasty temples usually had three components, a main temple building at a higher elevation, accessed by a causeway, from a much smaller entrance building. In 2006, archaeologists found ruins underneath a market in Cairo, which could possibly be the largest temple built by Ramesses II. ==India==

}} The sun temples of the Indian subcontinent are dedicated to the Hindu deity Surya, with the most prominent among them being the Konark Sun Temple (also known as the Black Pagoda), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. at Konark in Odisha and the Sun Temple at Modhera, Gujarat, built in 1026–1027. Both are now ruins, having been destroyed by invading Muslim armies. Konark was constructed around 1250, by Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. Surya was an important deity in early Hinduism, but sun worship largely declined as a principal deity around the 12th century. In Manipuri mythology, the sun god Korouhanba is the synonym of the Hindu deity Surya. Other Surya or sun temples in the Indian subcontinent include: • Andhra Pradesh • Surya Narayana Temple at Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh built in 7th century by king Devendra Varma, ruler of Kalinga. The temple is constructed in such a way that on the day of Radhasaptami, the Sun's rays directly fall on the feet of the Sri Suryanarayana Swami, the deity at the temple. • Assam • Surya Pahar Temple at Sri Surya Pahar in Assam built in 9th century • Navlakha Temple, Ghumli, Gujarat, built in the 11th century. • Sun Temple, Thangadh • Haryana • Within 48 Kos Parikrama of Kurukshetra • Within Borshyam Surya tirtha • Within Aaugandh Suryakunda • Within Habri Suryakunda • Within Sajuma Suryakunda • Surajkund, Faridabad • Jammu and Kashmir • Martand Sun Temple, near Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir built in 10th century • Karnataka • Soorya Narayana Temple at Maroli, Mangalore, Karnataka • Kerala • Adithyapuram Sun Temple • Madhya Pradesh • Bhramanya Dev Temple at Unao, Balaji in Madhya Pradesh • Maharashtra • Kanakaditya Temple at Kasheli in Ratnagiri • Suryanarayana temple, Narayana Chincholi, Dist. in Solapur • Manipur • Ebudhou Korouhanba Temple, Moidangpok, Patsoi, Manipur • Odisha • Biranchinarayan Temple, Palia, a 13th-century temple in Palia, Odisha. • Tamil Nadu • Suryanar Kovil Temple at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu built in 1060-1118 CE • Uttar Pradesh • Rahila Sagar Sun Temple at Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh • Sun Temple at Kalpi in Uttar Pradesh • West Bengal • Sonatapal, Bankura District, West Bengal • Gangaditya Temple, Murshidabad District, West Bengal • Pakistan • Multan Sun Temple, also known as Aditya Sun Temple, in Multan in Punjab, Pakistan was destroyed by Muslim rulers in 10th century. ==Inca empire==

still remains The following are Pre-Columbian temples of Inti (the Inca god Sun): • Qurikancha in Cusco, Peru, was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. • Muyuq Marka in Cusco, Peru. • Willkawaman in Vilcashuamán, Peru. == Others ==

There are also sun temple sites in a number of other countries: • The Temple of the Sun in the Temple of the Cross Complex, at the Mayan site of Palenque, in southern Mexico, built sometime between 200 and 900 AD. • The Temple of the Night Sun at the Mayan site of El Zotz, Guatemala, possibly abandoned in the fifth century. • There are several Shinto shrines in Japan, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu including: :* Ise Grand Shrine in Ise, Mie prefecture :* Amanawa Shinmei Shrine, founded in 710, in Kamakura :* Amanoiwato-jinja in Takachiho, Miyazaki prefecture • In the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, United States, there is a structure which may have been used as a sun temple by the Pueblo culture, with construction thought to have begun in 1275 AD, although it does not seem to have been completed. == Other usages ==

The name Temple of the Sun or Sun Temple was given to a folly which stood in Kew Gardens from 1761 until 1916. It was designed and built by William Chambers, who also planted a cedar tree next to the structure earlier, in 1725. In 1916, a storm brought down the cedar tree, which destroyed the folly in the process. == See also ==