Hindu Temple of Bandar Abbas

In the centre of Bandar Abbas, close to the bazaar, stands a small square building crowned by a dome unlike any other in the city. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, built in 1892 for the Indian merchants who traded in the port. Locals often call it simply Ma'bad-e Hendu-ha, the temple of the Hindus.

At the end of the nineteenth century Bandar Abbas was an important port for trade between Iran and British India, and many merchants and traders from western India, from regions such as Sindh and Gujarat, lived and worked there. The temple was built during the governorship of Mohammad Hassan Khan Sa'd ol-Molk, with funds collected among the Indian merchants of the city. Accounts differ on who exactly paid for it and directed the work.

The building is a square chamber crowned by a dome whose tiered, ribbed shape is inspired by the temple towers of India, a form found nowhere else in the city. Its design draws on Indian temple architecture while using the building materials and techniques of the Persian Gulf coast, and its interior once held images of the gods.

As the Indian trading community declined in the twentieth century, regular worship came to an end. The temple is now registered as a national monument and has been restored as a museum. It is a reminder of the long ties between the ports of southern Iran and India, and of the many faiths that met on the shores of the Gulf.