spiritual refreshment!
07 June 2011 | Bahai Temple, Panama City
Catherine
As I was on the bus coming back from Colon last week, I caught sight of an egg shaped building on the top of a hill and it just triggered my memory that I had seen a picture of this temple before. A little google search reminded me that it was one of 7 Bahai temples in the world. As I am Bahai, it would have been a shame to miss out on having the opportunity to visit, and so Mia and I had a little girls' adventure, taking local buses, getting on the wrong bus, meeting a lovely man who directed us to the right bus and then taking a taxi up the very steep hill. The temple is indeed known as the Templo Huevo (egg temple) and being built in 1972 (a fine year by all accounts!) it has a very Mr Man-esque appearance, but the atmosphere inside is anything but Roger Hargreaves. 9 doors in every temple represent the doorways allowing all the 9 major religions to come together to pray give the temple a beautiful airy feeling and amplify the birdsong and breeze in the trees outside. Every Sunday there is a devotional meeting at 10am where scriptures from all the major religions are read. I wish I had known about that! At the temple I met the Panamian Bahais and also an American and Samoan Bahai and after spending some wonderfully quiet time in the temple, was invited to join the community for lunch. Mia and I then walked back donw the hill and caught the right bus for 25 cents back to the boat. Just what I needed. Today (Tuesday) I checked us out of Panama and so tomorrow or the next day we will be ready to go.