Centres that had been designed two decades earlier, further demonstrating how time and space influence contemporary Ismaili religious architecture. The first Ismaili Centre in the Middle East was opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on March 26, 2008, by the Aga Khan in the presence of senior members of the ruling family of Dubai. The centre, built on land donated by the Shaykh Mohammed b. Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai's ruler in 1982, is the first such Centre in the Middle East. The building draws its inspiration from Cairo's Fatimid architecture heritage, a dynasty founded by the Aga Khan's forefathers and previous Imams of the Nizārī Ismā'īlī community in the tenth century. An Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, firmly located in the Persian-speaking Muslim world, reflects and marks the centuries of Ismaili presence in Central Asia and surrounding regions. Opened on October 12, 2009, by Republic's President, Emamoli Rahmon and the Aga Khan, its architecture blends a diverse range of artisanal and craft traditions of the region and draws upon as inspiration of the grand courtyards of Samarkand and Khiva in Uzbekistan as well as the tenth century Samanid mausoleum. Technical innovations include earthquake resistant roofing which transfers structural stress, a heating and air conditioning system based on water source heat pumps and a heat recovery wheel for energy efficiency. The second Ismaili Centre to be built in Canada, the Ismaili Centre, Toronto, was opened in 2014 in Toronto's Don Mills area and follows the pattern of earlier buildings, representing functionally and symbolically the presence of Ismaili communities in Europe and North America. The Ismaili Centre in Toronto is the largest such centre in the English-speaking world. The Toronto Ismaili Centre shares its grounds with the Aga Khan Museum, both of which sit in the Aga Khan Park. Further Ismaili Centres, in various stages of development will follow shortly: centres in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California are being planned. See also Gymkhana, Anglo-Indian term derived from the Persian word Jamat-khana Notes References External links The Ismaili Centres Website Mosques Nizari Ismailism Islam in India Islam in Pakistan