The Damulla Cave Temple in Sri Lanka is a series of five cave containing depictions of Buddha. The second and largest cave, the Maharaja Viharaya (Temple of the Great Kings), contains sixteen standing and forty seated statues of Buddha. The walls and ceiling are covered with 18th-century murals depicting the life of Buddha. Yellow and red are the predominant colors.
Built by Ramses the Great, Abu Simbel was disassembeled and raised above the water levels when the Aswan High Dam was built inthe 1960s. There are two temples, one for Ramses, the other for his wife Nefertari. Nefertari pictures first. I can’t figure out how to change order on my phone.
08/12/2016•architecture, Culture, Explore, history, Photography, Travel
Facade, New Town Hall, Marienplatz, Munich
Detail of the facade of the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) on the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany. The Gothic Revival style building was built between 1869 and 1908.
08/08/2016•architecture, art, Culture, history, Photography, Travel
Demon statues, Angkor Thom, Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia
A row of 54 demons flank the right side of the causeway leading to the south gate at Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer empire. The grimacing demons wear military headdresses. The left side of the causeway has a similar line of serene gods (devas). Angkor Thom, part of the Angkor Archaeological Park near Siem Reap, Cambodia, was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII and was abandoned prior to 1609. It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000–150,000 people. Angkor Thom is located near Angkor Wat.
The two rows of statues each hold a naga (serpent) in the attitude of a tug-of-war, a reference to the myth of the Churning of the Sea of Milk.
Asuras demons churning of the sea
07/03/2016•art, Culture, Explore, Photography, religion, Travel
Buddhist monks carrying offerings, at the lower entrance to the Dambulla Caves, Matale Region, Sri Lanka.
Buddhist monks carrying offerings to a giant golden statue of Buddha, which sits atop a museum building at the lower entrance to the Dambulla Caves, Matale Region, Sri Lanka. I thought they looked a bit scary. The museum, golden Buddha, and monks were constructed in the 1990s and are out of synch with the actual Dambulla caves.
I was intrigued by the four figures on the House of the Four Mamlases on the eastern side of Brno’s main square, Namesti Svobody. Designed in 1928 by German architect Germano Wanderley, the figures resemble Atlas holding up the world. Guide books describe them as four morons trying to hold up the building and their pants at the same time. Apparently, mamlas is a slur meaning ninny, clumsy, stupid, nincompoop, or pratt. I wasn’t able to determine if the building was christened the House of the Four Ninnies or it is a later nickname. I do agree they don’t look like the four sharpest tacks on the board.
WPC: Faces
The New 3 Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect 