When John’s sister, Jeanette suggested we go on a week’s vacation with her and her partner, Maew, we jumped at the chance. They are fun to be with, have a sense of adventure, and Jeanette speaks a lot of SE Asian languages. Our criteria for choosing a location included reasonable flight length (that left out New Zealand), culturally interesting, and an Air Asia destination (cheapest fares around with deals always to be had). We found what we were looking for in Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. I’ve put a map of the world in with the images for those of you not sure where Sri Lanka is. It is the dark spot off the southeast coast of India. Archaeological evidence puts humans on the island before 125,000 BCE; Sri Lanka has a history of over 3000 years, having one of the longest documented histories in the world; it is where the Buddhist teachings were first written down and is the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka is the greenest, most lush place I have ever been. It is a beautiful island with gorgeous beaches, wonderful mountains, a wealth of archaeological sites, and lovely people of diverse cultures, languages and religions (70% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 7.5% Muslim, 7.5% Christian). And, it was once an English colony so it has that thrown into the mix too. Sri Lanka has eight UNESCO world Heritage Sites, we visited four of them. I’ve put in a map of the island with markings of only those places we visited. Well, we didn’t really see Columbo but that is where we flew into. I will take you on a photographic tour using the captions to narrate.
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Dambulla Rock Cave Temple dates back to 1st century BCE.
It has been in continuous use for 22 centuries.
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This facade was built in 1938 to protect
the five cave shrines from the weather.
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2100 sq. meters of murals painted on the cave walls.
157 statues, all but 4 are Buddha.
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This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Sigiriya – The Lion Rock, UNESCO WHS
200m/656ft above this garden level.
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1202 steps to reach the top.
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The view from half way up.
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Note the solid band of color – Mirror Wall.
Note the spiril staircase; leads to a wall of women.
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Originally filled with fresco paintings of 500
women. The king had 500 consorts . . . hmmm.
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Some think they are the consorts, others think they
depict celestial nymphs.
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There are only 22 fresco women left.
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These barebreasted women may have been destroyed when
the Rock reverted to the monks after the king’s death.
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Historical graffiti on the Mirror Wall (in the king’s day, highly polished)
expressing appreciation for the beauty of the painted ladies.
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View from the ladies.
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Telephoto view of the water gardens; actually
a hydrolic engineeing marvel.
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Note the lion’s paws and imagine how big the head was.
To get to the top people had to pass through the lion’s mouth.
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Lion’s paws seen from above. A good
resting spot before the final climb.
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The highest point is in the king’s bedroom.
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The king’s swimming pool, carved out of the rock.
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The flat stone near the foregound is where the king
watched his ladies dancing while getting a massage.
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Look at the shape of this council room. It is believed
to have been purposely broken off the adjacent wall.
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Monks originally build and lived in the
many rooms scattered on the Rock.
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Original monk steps dating back over 2300 years.
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A typical Sri Lankan lunch – rice and curry.
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Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Vatadage – most important of the temples in the city.
It is believed to have held the tooth relic of Buddha.
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The city dates from 1070CE.
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Throughout is found both Buddhist and Hindu
“adornment”.
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The city was abandoned in 1215CE
after an invasion from South India.
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The little guy on your left is good so free to move around.
The other is bad so he is being restrained from going out.
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It may be an abandoned, ancient city but its temples and
shires are still considered sacred and images of Buddha revered.
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The royal palace.
It was seven stories high.
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Some of the plaster details in
the palace can still be seen.
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The council room.
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Each had an assigned seat. The pillars prevented the
counselors from seeing the king unless called forth.
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Gal Vihara in Polonnaruwa, four statues of Buddha
carved into a single large granit rockface.
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We found the quality, beauty, and serenity
of these carvings to be very moving.
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While driving to the tea region
we saw a wild elephant!
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Nuwars Eliya a.k.a.Little England
The most important location for tea production.
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The city was founded by Samuel Baker in 1846.
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These views are from our hotel.
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At 6128ft, its beauty and temperate climate made an ideal
retreat for British colonists. It retains its British flavor.
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The climate makes it ideal for growing
tea, flowers, and vegetables.
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Tea pickers amongst the plants.
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All tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis.
It is the processing that differs. Herbal tea is actually an infusion.
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The plants used to be propagated by seed,
now it is done through cloning.
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Do you see the pickers near the top?
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From the time it is picked until it is in a box
to be shipped is 24 hours. Factory tour.
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Negombo, this area was colonized
by both Portuguese and Dutch.
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At the Negombo fish market.
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Agurukaramulla Pansala
Buddhist temple of Negombo.
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This is a very elaborate complex.
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The wall paintings in these 3 images
are 1,600 years old.
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It is only this room that is so old.
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Out side the temple is the Bodhi tree.
It was grown from a cutting of the original.
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A bicycle race on our way inland.
We did a lot of driving, all on two lane roads.
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Kandy, the last capital of the ancient kings’ era.
Located in the center of Sri Lanka.
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Sri Dalaa Maligawa, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
in Kandy, UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Princess Hemamali, with her husband, is said to have
smuggled the tooth relic in SL in her hair (aprox. 310CE).
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Safeguarding the tooth relic was the prime responsibility of the
monarchs and today that responsibility lies with the President.
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The tooth relic is behind the door in the center. It is kept in a seven
gold caskets. Once every 5 years the tooth itself is on display.
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“…the most sacred Buddhist shrine in he world …venerated not
only by Buddhists in Sri Lanka but by Buddhists all over the world.”
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The shrine’s Bodhi tree.
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Kandy has a very distinct culture. We were lucky
to see this performing arts presentation.
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Royal Botonical Gardens of Peradeniya
147 acres, 300 species
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Origins go back to 1371 with the kings but the garden
was formally established in 1843 by the British.
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Not surprisingly, it is a favorite place for wedding photographs.
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This garden has some of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen.
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Thank you for going on this photographic journey with us.
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