#statue - Journeys From A Small Room

Sri Chamundeshwari

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Indian Subcontinent. Tagged: #culture, #god, #hindu, #hinduism, #holy, #india, #indian, #landmark, #palace, #religion, #statue, #temple, #tourism, #tower, #traditional, #travel, #worship, amazing, asian, beauty, chamundeshwari, chamundeswari, chamundi, decoration, deity, diversity, famous, historical, history, idol, karnataka, lakshmiramana, mysore, ornate, place, religious, shiva, shrine, south, spiritual, spirituality, sri, swamy, touristic, varahaswamy, vertical. Leave a comment

In 2015 I spent 5months travelling around Southern India. One of the things that struck me the most was there were so many Temples! This one in Mysore is the second in my video collection.

Chamundi Hill is about 13 kms from Mysore, which is a prominent city in Karnataka State of India. Chamundi Hills is famous not only in India but also abroad. ‘Chamundi’ or ‘Durga’ at atop of the hil, the famous Sri Chamundeswari Temple is the fierce form of ‘Shakti’. She is the slayer of demons, ‘Chanda’ and ‘Munda’ and also ‘Mahishasura’, the buffalow-headed monster.

She is the tutelary deity of the Mysore Maharajas and the presiding deity of Mysore. For several centuries they have held the Goddess, Chamundeswari, in great reverence.

In ‘Skanda Purana’ and other ancient texts, it is mention a sacred place called ‘Trimuta Kshetra’ surrounded by eight hills. lying along side of west is the Chamundi Hills, it is one among the eight hills. In the earlier days, the hill was identified as ‘Mahabaladri’ in honour of God Shiva who resides in the ‘Mahabaleswara Temple’; this is the oldest temple on the hills.

Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: United Kingdom. Tagged: #culture, #grass, #landmark, #monument, #old, #ornament, #ornamental, #outdoor, #park, #religion, #sculpture, #sky, #statue, #stone, #summer, #symbol, #travel, #white, botanical, bronze, buddhism, bush, child, decor, decoration, decorative, design, floral, flower, garden, gardening, green, hedge, landscape, life, nature, object, path, plant, shape, style, tree, water, yellow. Leave a comment

n 2013 I had the great delight of visiting the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden.
I would firstly like to thank and credit the Artists and creators of these wonderful Sculptures and apologies for not knowing their names.

Heralded as the first of it’s kind in the UK, The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden has been proudly exhibiting contemporary sculpture in a unique and magical environment for over 30 years.

You can find out more about Hannah Peschar’s Garden at this link:
http://www.hannahpescharsculpture.com/

Necropolis at Naqsh e Rustam

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Islamic Republic of Iran. Tagged: #culture, #desert, #destination, #empire, #heritage, #monument, #old, #religion, #sculpture, #statue, #stone, #tourism, #travel, achaemenid, antiquity, archaeology, artaxerxes, cross, darius, dynasty, e, fars, grave, historic, historical, history, iran, iranian, king, mountain, naqsh, naqsh-e, necropolis, persepolis, persia, persian, province, relief, rock, rostam, ruins, rustam, shiraz, tomb, unesco, xerxes. Leave a comment

During 2012 following the Silk Route of Alexander the Great I visited Iran, and persepolis and this great Necropolis; Naqsh-e Rustam where the great kings of Persia, Darius and Exercese and Artaxerxes I Makrocheir, Darius II Nothus. A beautiful landscape and a place I will always remember….

Madurai

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Indian Subcontinent. Tagged: #culture, #god, #heritage, #hindu, #hinduism, #holy, #india, #indian, #kerala, #landmark, #monument, #nadu, #old, #religion, #sculpture, #statue, #stone, #tamil, #temple, #tower, #travel, asian, bas, basrelief, colorful, decoration, deity, famous, ganesh, gopura, gopuram, history, idol, image, madurai, meenakshi, menakshi, mumbai, ornate, pantheon, relief, shiva, spirituality, vishnu. Leave a comment

The Amzing Temples at Maduri which I visited in 2015 on my 5mth trip round southern India. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Thailand. Tagged: #craft, #culture, #grass, #landmark, #religion, #sculpture, #sky, #statue, #temple, #tourism, #tradition, #traditional, #travel, #white, amazing, asian, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, carving, chiang, chiangrai, church, construction, decor, decoration, decorative, design, destinations, khun, landscape, mai, northern, oriental, pattern, rai, reflect, reflection, religious, rong, style, sunshine, thai, Thailand, wat. Leave a comment

Wat Rong Khun, better known as “the White Temple” is one of the most recognizable temples in Thailand. The temple outside the town of Chiang Rai attracts a large number of visitors, both Thai and foreign, making it one of Chiang Rai’s most visited attractions.

Wat Rong Khun is a unique temple that stands out through the white color and the use of pieces of glass in the plaster, sparkling in the sun. The white color signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings.

The Wat Rong Khun was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a famous Thai visual artist. To date the temple is not finished. Eventually there will be nine buildings including an ubosot, a hall to enshrine Buddhist relics, a meditation hall, the monks living quarters and an art gallery.

On May 5th 2014 a strong earthquake hit Chiang Rai. Although the white temple was badly damaged, Chalermchai Kositpipat decided to restore and further expand the Wat Rong Khun.

History of the Wat Rong Khun Towards the end of the 20th century, the original Wat Rong Khun was in a very poor state of preservation. Restoration works on the temple started, but had to be halted due to a lack of funds. Chalermchai Kositpipat, a artist born in Chiang Rai, decided to completely rebuild the temple and fund the project with his own money. The artist built the temple to be a center of learning and meditation and for people to gain benefit from the Buddhist teachings. Today the works are ongoing.

Sappha Sang Won Chedi

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Thailand. Tagged: #culture, #destination, #heritage, #holy, #landmark, #old, #palace, #religion, #sculpture, #sky, #statue, #symbol, #temple, #tourism, #tourist, #traditional, #travel, #worship, asian, attraction, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, chedi, church, decoration, faith, famous, historic, historical, history, pagoda, popular, pray, religious, repair, respect, sanctuary, spiritual, stupa, thai, Thailand, wat. Leave a comment

Another amazing place in the Isaan Region

Wat Ban Rai

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Thailand. Tagged: #culture, #gold, #golden, #landmark, #monument, #old, #outdoor, #outdoors, #religion, #sculpture, #statue, #symbol, #temple, #tourism, #traditional, #travel, #worship, asian, attraction, attractive, ban, big, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, church, clouds, east, elephant, famous, figure, monk, nakhon, nakhonratchasima, outside, pagoda, rai, ratchasima, sanctuary, style, thai, Thailand, wat, wood. Leave a comment

Wat Ban Rai (วัดบ้านไร่) is a wonderful and marvellous elephant-shaped Buddhist temple, located between Korat and Chaiyaphum in Nakhon Ratchasima, northeastern Thailand.

Located in the middle of a lake comprising an area of 48,562 square meters, it is one of the most fascinating temples in Thailand. Besides its stunning design in the shape of an elephant, Wat Ban Rai features amazing paints and statues.

The temple was conceived by the revered monk Luang Phor Koon Parisuttho พระเทพวิทยาคม (คูณ ปริสุทฺโธ), who passed away at 92 on Saturday May 16, 2015. Wat Ban Rai is one of the most significant temples for Isan people as well for all Thais.

Worshippers from across the country come there to pay their respect to Luang Phor Khoon. Wat Ban Rai is a 100 million baht temple (around 2,626,000 euros) which was built from donations and personal contributions.

Sri Chamundeshwari Temple

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Indian Subcontinent. Tagged: #culture, #god, #hindu, #hinduism, #holy, #india, #indian, #landmark, #palace, #religion, #statue, #temple, #tourism, #tower, #traditional, #travel, #worship, amazing, asian, beauty, chamundeshwari, chamundeswari, chamundi, decoration, deity, diversity, famous, historical, history, idol, karnataka, lakshmiramana, mysore, ornate, place, religious, shiva, shrine, south, spiritual, spirituality, sri, swamy, touristic, varahaswamy, vertical. Leave a comment

Sri Chamundeshwari temple is the most famous temple in Mysore, a city in the Southern state Karnataka. It is located on the top of Chamundi hill which is about 3,489 ft. above sea level and situated at a distance of 13 kms from Mysore. Named after the Goddess Chamundeshwari or Durga, this temple is considered as one of the Shakti Peethas. It is known as Krouncha Pitham. I was visiting it on my 5mth tour round southern India

Xieng Khuan Buddha Park

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Lao People's Democratic Republic. Tagged: #culture, #exotic, #god, #heritage, #hindu, #landmark, #monument, #park, #religion, #sculpture, #sky, #statue, #stone, #temple, #tourism, #tourist, #travel, #worship, amazing, attraction, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, famous, fantasy, figures, idol, khuan, landscape, laos, legend, monster, mysterious, religious, sacred, southeast, spiritual, Thailand, tree, tropical, vientiane, wat, wisdom, xieng. Leave a comment

I visited this weird and quirky place in 2012 when spending time in Laos near vientiane. It caught my imagination, I hope it does yours!

Buddha Park is more curious than spectacular – which makes for a curious spectacle. A rogue monk is said to have attempted to reconsolidates Buddhism and Hinduism into his own brand of mysticism through a prolific collection of sculptures depicting various deities and scenes from both religions. The information provided at the park is less dramatic, simply stating that Bunleua Sulilat constructed this sculpture garden in 1958 before fleeing across the Mekong to Thailand in 1978 and building a sister park across the river in Nong Khai.

Erawan Museum

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Thailand. Tagged: #culture, #holy, #landmark, #monument, #ornament, #palace, #red, #religion, #sculpture, #sky, #statue, #stone, #temple, #tourism, #traditional, #travel, #white, animal, antique, asian, bangkok, black, buddhism, ceiling, classic, decoration, design, elephant, entrance, erawan, glass, head, history, interior, museum, pattern, prakan, religious, sacred, samut, style, thai, Thailand, three. Leave a comment

During my stay in Bangkok during the funeral of King Rama 9 I visited the Erawan Museum on the edge of the city.

A fantastic place with an enormous three headed elephant on an equally gargantuan pedestal. Beautifully ornate and stunningly detailed inside you find two dragons curling their way round the interior of the building creating the spectacular stair case.

As you ascend through the three floors you are taken higher and closer to heaven where you can see a most amazing coloured stain glass ceiling. Above that yo reach the nirvana, or temple of Buddha with again such wonderful blue painted sky and gold adornments. Half way down yo can look out through a window (the elephants stomach) and see across Bangkok.

The Gardens are full of not only beautiful plants and flowers but also detailed Thai sculptures and water features. The Elephant itself weighs a hefty 250 tonnes and stands at 29 meters high and 39 meters long and made from Bronze.

Persepolis

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Islamic Republic of Iran. Tagged: #culture, #empire, #heritage, #landmark, #monument, #old, #palace, #sculpture, #site, #sky, #statue, #stone, #tourism, #travel, achaemenid, archaeology, archeology, attraction, bas-relief, darius, dynasty, east, excavations, fars, gate, historic, historical, history, iran, iranian, middle east, outside, persepolis, persepolis iran, persia, persian, relief, ruins, sand, shiraz, sight, unesco, wall, world, xerxes. Leave a comment

During my “Silk Route” journey in 2012 I travelled through Iran and of course the route Alexander the Great took to Persepolis the ancient City of Persia. Now in ruins, this UNESCO World Heritage is one that you really need to see to understand and get a feel of. The area of the site is vast and seems to just keep going and going. It is pretty amazing to walk around and imagine how it would have looked in the 4th century.

Sala Kaew Ku Sculpture Park

Posted by Annette Johnson on April 10, 2018

Posted in: Thailand. Tagged: #culture, #hindu, #monument, #old, #outdoor, #park, #religion, #sculpture, #statue, #stone, #symbol, #temple, #tourism, #travel, amazing, asian, bigest, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, christian, decoration, e-san, folk legends, garden, hindu gods, historical, history, journey, kaeo ku, kaew, ku, museum, nong khai, part of, ramayana epic, religious, sala, sala keoku, south east, tale, teachings, thai, Thailand, tourist area. Leave a comment

The park’s countless dazzling sculptures were the life’s work of Boun Leua Sulilat, a Lao man who spent much of his early life absorbing mystical knowledge from an ascetic hermit named Kaew Ku, who lived in a cave in Laos. Sala Kaew Ku is Sulilat’s impressive attempt to bring this knowledge to life. While the striking depictions draw from a wide range of ancient beliefs, including animist folklore, Hindu mythology and Buddhist traditionalism, the execution is all Sulilat.

Surrounded by well-groomed gardens and a large pond, the 100+ sculptures range from modest in size to way larger than life, with the tallest reaching 25 metres in height. Along with endless grinning Buddhas and animated Hindu gods, the park features several depictions of nagas, or mythical serpents that play a prominent role in South and Southeast Asian mythology. Sulilat himself strongly identified with snakes, believing them to be the purest of all creatures.

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