Anurahadapura

And so it begins!

We are in Sri Lanka for the first time in our lives, about to start a three week holiday that will visit every corner of the island,take in all the popular tourist sites, as well as some not so well known, see the National Parks, ride the trains, swim in the ocean, visit areas that were off-limits until recently due to the long-running civil war, and experience the famous Lankan  hospitality. 

After landing at Columbo, we take a long four hour drive to Anurahadapura in the Cultural Heartlands.  Next day, refreshed after a good night's sleep, we begin our tour.

Anurahadapura

543BC is a significant date in Lanka's history.  It marks the beginning of the Buddhist Era when Prince Vijaya of the Sinhalese royal family was banished from his homeland along with 700 other renegades, and dispatched in a boat never to return.  He landed on the Sri Lankan coast, established a community and prospered. The Sinhalese today make up about 70 percent of the population. 

200 years later the missionary Mahinda, presented King Tassa of Anurahadapura with a cutting of the sacred Bo tree beneath which Buddha had seen the light.  It was only then that Buddhism really began to take hold.  The cutting was planted next to the royal palace and the site became a place of great religious significance.  The "tree of enlightenment" has survived to the present day, and is now the oldest known tree in the world. It is a mecca for pilgrims.  Seedlings from it have stocked temples around the globe. 

Our guide for the morning showed us around the principal sites:

The Isurumuniya Temple, constructed by King Devanampiyatissa, in the 3rd century BC, built partly into a cave with a lovely pool in the front and with a boulder forming the rear wall. Inside is a huge statue of the reclining Buddha.

Thuparamaya, a small dagoba, a sacred Buddhist site believed to contain the right collarbone of Buddha.  It is a 19thcentury reproduction. 

The Abhayagiri Monastery spreading over an area of 200 hectares,  (109 BC-89-77 BC) and home to more than 4,000 monks.  We were impressed by the great rice boat from which the monks scooped out their breakfast and lunch.  No food was eaten after midday, so as not to dull the mind during the long periods of evening meditation.  During its heyday the monastery was home to one of the finest libraries in the world.

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The elephant pond, just one of the many bathing pools, an impressive 150 metres long and 10 metres deep..

The Abhayagiri Stupa, built over a footprint of Buddha, that is 235ft high and 310 feet around its circumference.

The Kuttam Pokuna or the twin ponds, built between the 8th and 10th century for Buddhist monks at Abhayagiri Vihara for their daily baths.

Jetawanarama, the largest shrine in Anurahadapura rising to 122 metres (400 feet) in height. 92million bricks were used in its construction.

Ruwanweliseya – the Great Stupa, built to resemble a bubble floating on water, containing sacred relics of Buddha.