A Buddhist temple in Bhaktapur

Prayer flags mean Buddhism. While meandering through the Hindu temples, my guide led me to this Buddhist temple right in the middle of Bhaktapur. It was quite refreshing to see the close association between the Hindus and the Buddhists.

Happy Easter

 

The library at Ephesus.

Exquisite carvings

 of a door...

 Religious objects....

Everywhere exquisite carvings abound. Nepalese folks are such master carvings till today. The craft continues to be practised.

Oil lamps

While the temple has been lovingly restored, the position of the oil lamps of ancient years has been retained. There is electricity now and gets turned on when there is power depending on the time of day. Nepal doesn't get enough power for all its needs.

The royal bath in Bhaktapur

Its a self contained kingdom, with the palaces, the temples and the royal baths all at almost arms length. The royal bath is now a shadow of its former grandeur. One can only imagine how things were in the days when it was in full use.

continuing my dawdle in Bhaktapur

It's a beautiful place, full of gorgeous temples. It was a wealthy kingdom once. Nepal, in recent years had been wracked with civil war, leaving the country, with badly constructed new buildings and a torn infrastructure. The people are trying to better their lives by going for higher education. It's wonderful to see a country that value education so much. Compared with the kids we have in the US, most shun school and learning. It is a blessing to have a curious mind. For that I'm eternally grateful. IGrowing up I had nothing going for me, just a curious mind.

Animal sacrifices

In the temple in Bhaktapur they still offer animal sacrifices, of what, I didn't ask. Maybe of buffaloes because they distribute the meat to eat it.

The holy temple in Bhaktapur

 We are now heading over to the former king's temple. Depending on the city's fortune, temples are erected to the various deities as a gift of thanksgiving or appeasement.

 The front door is heavily gilded.

 Here are the most amazing and intricate wood carvings that the Nepalis are famous for.

I wasn't allowed to enter, just to gaze at this lintel. The carving is so exquisite.

A true living museum

 There were three nation kingdoms in the Kathmandu valley, Kathmandu, Patan and now Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur has remained the same for centuries and besides being a museum, the local folk still calls the area home and does their work, farm and crafting as in centuries ago. It is a very interesting place. As soon as I opened the door of my taxi, a local approached me wanting to be my guide. We agreed on a price and he promised to show me the places most visitors would feel squeamish about. He said he knew what I like, the weird, the quirky and the squeamish... he waas right.

 For some reason they like to build next to Bunyan trees. This Bunyan tree has roots extended everywhere.

Bhaptapur is a palace complex, with temples built for the various deities of the Hindu pantheon, royal and common baths, spring water, various religious sculptures and the chief temple complex which is opened only to Hindus.

Back again?

My friend, Gerry, lives in Istanbul. That was her comment, 'back again?' Yes, I have tickets to return to Turkey in 6 weeks. This time visiting the South East, following in the footsteps of Gertrude Bell when in 1909 she visited Mardin and the Tur Abdin area.

Changu Narayan, final post

 A pair of Garudas guarding the temple. Garudas are mystical birds.

 Finally it was time to leave and I went through the arch way that I came in from and down the stone steps...

A villager was on the top of the steps as she looked on and I left.