Opened in July 2007, in Etobicoke (in a north-west
section of Toronto), the Swaminarayan Mandir was
constructed with no steel, but otherwise build of:
- 2,393 metric tons of Turkish limestone
- 2,050 metric tons of Italian Carrara marble
- 1,349 tonnes of Indian sandstone

Raw limestone travel 4000 km. from Turkey to India
Raw marble traveled 6,200 km. from Italy to India
There, in India, 2,000 craftsmen craved out the 24,000
pieces that would eventually become the temple.

The temple consists of 132 archways, 84 decorative
ceilings, and 340 pillars. It would take a single
craftsman 310 days to carve out one six-foot pillar.

The 12,800 kilometer journey from India to Toronto
required 305 shipping containers, the smallest stone
weighing 50 grams, and the heaviest stone weighing
5 metric tons.

Onces here, the temple was constructed in 18 months,
with an approx. final cost of $40 million dollar.

They don't often build them like they use to, but in
this case, both inside and out, the craftsmanship is
simply amazing in its detail. And although no photography
is allowed inside, this is one structure which could be
explored a long time just photographing what's there to
be seen outside.