looked at the Golden Temple. These words captures in many ways the mood and ambience at the

Harmandir Sahib, which is the temples real name. Few places combine amazing surroundings

with a calm and peaceful atmosphere better than the Golden Temple.

If you look around you, you will see that the area holds more than just the Golden Temple.

The Darbar Sahib temple complex, which the place is often called, consists of many Sikh

shrines, temples and other holy places. Three holy trees can also be found inside the temple

area, each one associated with a historical event or a Sikh saint. In the middle of the

temple are stands the Golden Temple, surrounded by a large man-made lake. The lakes name is

Amritsar, meaning "Lake of the immortal nectar". As the name of the lake is the same as the

city surrounding it, one might think that the city gave the lake its name. The reality

is the other way around. In 1573 the construction of the lake started

under supervision of the fourth guru of Sikhism; Guru Ram Das Ji. The lake stood complete four

years later, in 1577. During this time, a city began to grow around the lake. The name

of the city was originally "Ramdaspur", after the guru, but was later changed. As the city

became associated with the construction of the lake, the city simply took the same name

as the lake itself. Therefore, both the city and the lake carry the name Amritsar.

The construction of the Golden Temple itself started in 1588 under the leadership of the

fifth guru; Guru Arjan Dev Ji. The story says that a close friend of the guru was asked

to lay the foundation stone of the building. After the stone had been laid, a mason straightened

the stone which, to which the guru said "..as you have just undone the work of such a holy

man, who knows what disaster might come." This story has been used as an explanation

to why the temple as been attacked so many times by Afghans, Mughals and even the Indian

army. The majority of these attacks happened during

mid 18th century, when the temple was attacked multiply times by Afgahn raiders. The raiders

caused severe damage to the temple complex, which resulted in a restoration of the temple

in 1764. Another major assault on the temple was in 1984 when the Indian army attacked

during the so called "Operation Bluestar". The Indian army had order to move in to the

temple area and remove Sikh militants who was believe to amass weapons inside the area.

The operation ended in bloody gunfights between the militants and the army, resulting in large

casualties on both sides. The attack on the Sikh holy shrine, and they way it was carried

out, was and still is highly controversial. Only months after the attack, the Indian Prime

Minister of the time, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The army attack

on the temple lead to extensive restoration work on the temple area.

Ever since its completion in 1604, Harmandir Sahib is seen as one of the most, if not the

most important temple of Sikhism. It has become somewhat of a pilgrimage center as all Sikhs

try to visit the temple at least once during their life. One of the main reasons for this

is that the holy script of the Sikhs, the Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is kept inside

the temple. This holy script consists of 1430 parts, written in period of Sikh gurus between

1469 and 1709. During the day, the script is read non-stop inside the temple and describes

what God is like and what the right way to live is. Each side of the Golden Temple has

an entrance, signifying the importance of acceptance and openness and to show that the

temple is open to all -- regardless of religion, race or sex. This is what the Golden Temple

stands for today: a place where all people are welcome.