Aslanic Temple in Ruadh

[Mike S]

Sounds like we are ironing out a vital part of Barqan life here! I will try to create the minifigs for His Excellency Bishop Sheyer and the His Excellency First Knight Bahadur (means "warrior"), and maybe some other members of the City Council in the future. I'm also happy that I might get some use for my Kingdoms lions knight parts for regular knights of Aslan

I have thought of Barqa as something similar to Byzantine Constantinople or somewhat smaller. This means that the city would be at least 3-4 km to walk across, maybe more, translating to at minimum 30 min or up to an hour to get from one end of the city to the other (especially if there are a lot of people on the move). If the Aslanic faith is a major faith among the people of Barqa I would assume that most of the regular people would attend services at local temples/shrines and that at only very important occasions they would go to the main temple. Compare to a larger medieval city which typically had dozens of churches in addition to the main cathedral. In many cases the cathedral was not regularly visited by the regular people, even the people living close to the cathedral might instead normally attend the services in a smaller parish church very close to the cathedral except for very important occasions in the cathedral.

If the Order has smaller temples closer to the people, that also means that each priest may have better possibilities at getting to know his local followers.

Awesome! Hmmm, weekly worship definately would require more temples... I haven't really worked out the details of the Aslanic faith, I guess I was mixing it up a bit with elements of older religious practices where often times the people traveled only on special occasions to the temples and the rest of the time relied on local elements such as home shrines. But now that I think about it, since I have a temple in quite a few cities and towns, it would make sense to design a local temple in each district for a priest...

[Gideon]

Maybe it varies from different regions? Home shrines sound like something many devout followers everywhere probably have. In an ancient stronghold like Barqa the Order however must have followers which have grown up in families who has been believers for generations. In these areas, it sounds reasonable to me to have more established places for regular worship.

This in turn does not at all contradict the existence of more important sites, for example a temple holding an important relic or where some exclusive rituals are performed, which people may travel far to visit. (I'm thinking a bit of Judaism prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, when cities had their synagogues for weekly worship but sacrifices were made only in the temple, or important pilgrim cathedrals holding relics in medieval Europe).

[SarahJoy]

What a gorgeous temple!

It's fabulous the way you've taken your now-iconic Aslanic architecture and played with how it might integrate in different environments. The bright whitewashed overall architecture, with Kaliphlin rusticated bricks on the lower level -- gorgeous. The way you utilized the curved gold bricks to reference the now-characteristic Aslanic wooden arches (boat hulls) is lovely. (Wooden beams have been imported to Ruadh by others, so it's not unheard of, but it tends to be expensive.) Bringing in the palm trees and the flowers in the raised planter beds was such a thoughtful way of building specifically in Ruadh. And of course I love the lion idol.

I'm so pleased to have an Aslanic Temple in the Contemplative Gardens of Ruadh, and it's awesome how it's presence has opened such discourse on the history of the Order. I hope the Temple provides comfort to residents and visitors alike, and those who feel an Aslanic calling will speak with Brother Giotto.

We're happy to have Brother Giotto in Ruadh. He paints such beautiful frescos of angels.

Edited August 31, 2014 by SarahJoy

[soccerkid6]

You've really been on a roll lately with these temples I like the inclusion of red and gold in this one, and the palm trees are superb

[MassEditor]

Wonderful temple Mike, very clean and elegant looking! I've enjoyed reading your back story to these temples as well. One question though, is that a kind of idol or statue inside the temple? I would love to see a pic of that, looks very interesting.

[Mike S]

Maybe it varies from different regions? Home shrines sound like something many devout followers everywhere probably have. In an ancient stronghold like Barqa the Order however must have followers which have grown up in families who has been believers for generations. In these areas, it sounds reasonable to me to have more established places for regular worship.

This in turn does not at all contradict the existence of more important sites, for example a temple holding an important relic or where some exclusive rituals are performed, which people may travel far to visit. (I'm thinking a bit of Judaism prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, when cities had their synagogues for weekly worship but sacrifices were made only in the temple, or important pilgrim cathedrals holding relics in medieval Europe).

One of these days I can hopefully find the time to start a thread on the Aslanic Order. I've got stuff typed up and minifigs ready to photograph, just have to find time to organize it all into a proper post.

What a gorgeous temple!

It's fabulous the way you've taken your now-iconic Aslanic architecture and played with how it might integrate in different environments. The bright whitewashed overall architecture, with Kaliphlin rusticated bricks on the lower level -- gorgeous. The way you utilized the curved gold bricks to reference the now-characteristic Aslanic wooden arches (boat hulls) is lovely. (Wooden beams have been imported to Ruadh by others, so it's not unheard of, but it tends to be expensive.) Bringing in the palm trees and the flowers in the raised planter beds was such a thoughtful way of building specifically in Ruadh. And of course I love the lion idol.

I'm so pleased to have an Aslanic Temple in the Contemplative Gardens of Ruadh, and it's awesome how it's presence has opened such discourse on the history of the Order. I hope the Temple provides comfort to residents and visitors alike, and those who feel an Aslanic calling will speak with Brother Giotto.

We're happy to have Brother Giotto in Ruadh. He paints such beautiful frescos of angels.

Thank you! Glad you like it!

You've really been on a roll lately with these temples I like the inclusion of red and gold in this one, and the palm trees are superb

Thanks! If the setting is right, I love reusing those palms..

Wonderful temple Mike, very clean and elegant looking! I've enjoyed reading your back story to these temples as well. One question though, is that a kind of idol or statue inside the temple? I would love to see a pic of that, looks very interesting.

Thanks! Yes that is a statue of Aslan, the god of the Aslanic faith. There are clearer pics of it in my Temple in Shadowmere build which I think you have already scene. But I will also have a row of similar ones on my Aden's Gate build below the waterfalls whenever I get that finished...