Unforgettable Trip #53 | Lion Rock (Sigiriya) | Part 1 | UNESCO World Heritage Site | Beautiful Sri Lanka

kusal (62)in Italy • 6 months ago

Hello Steemians!😎

So I hope everyone is fine, I've been away from Steemit for the past few months. I'm on vacation these days and will be covering some of the trips I've taken over the past few months. One of the most interesting trips I have been to was last September's trip to Sigiriya. Sigiriya is one of the 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka. I hope to bring you several posts about this trip and this is the first. So without further ado let's get to the story.

Sigiriya is an ancient stone fort located in the North Matale district near the city of Dambulla in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeological importance dominated by a massive rock column approximately 180 m (590 ft) high. Talking about Sigiriya, I would like to talk about several topics. If they are,

King Kasyapa
Sigiriya Fort/Castle
Frescoes
Mirror wall
Gardens
UNESCO World Heritage Site

King Kasyapa

Sigiriya Rock was built as a fort by King Kasyapa who reigned during the Anuradhapura period. So I thought that before talking about Sigiriya, I should talk a little about King Kasyapa. Prince Kasyapa, the step-son of King Dhatusena, was the son of a queen of the Pallava dynasty, so she was a different matriarch. As he was born to King Dhatusena from the daughter of the Mughal prince Kashapa, he was the same matriarch. According to Sri Lankan culture, the throne was inherited by the Mughal prince who had the sanctity of two castes. It was Prince Kasyapa who fought with the Indian army during an invasion from South India. After his victory, he expected the position of prince from King Dhatusena, but it was not fulfilled. Disappointed, Prince Kasyapa conspired with the commander in 112 AD according to the Choula clan, dethroned King Dhatusena and handed over the kingdom. According to the chronicles, King Kasyapa made Sigiriya fearing the perceived threat from the Mughals.

Because King Kasyapa is mentioned in the chronicles as a murderer of his father, it can be assumed that he was disliked by the people, but a different opinion is revealed from the chronicles. Although he worked for the betterment of the country, King Dhatusena was so cruel that he burned his wife to death. Similarly, Dhatusena King Pallava was a Mauryan who married a woman from the Pallava dynasty and took a Pallava army to Lakdivat and got rid of the Lambakarna clan who ruled here at that time.

Sigiriya Fort/Castle

The value of Sigiriya as a fort is limited considering the amount of capital spent on the construction of Sigiriya and the vast amount of human labor. The Sigiri mirror wall, the great lion image at the end of the platform, the steps extending through the lion's body to the rock face and the paintings of Lalana on the rock face are features that have no relation to a military fort. According to the ruins at the top of the Sigiri rock, there was only a one-room house for human habitation. Accordingly, Sigiriya should be an art museum and an amusement park.

Sigiriya is a land of art that utilizes both natural and creative architecture. Although Sigiriya is about 1200 acres of land, only 200 acres have been preserved there. Even though air conditioners are born from modern technology, the concept of cold palaces also existed in the past. Finding such ruins in Sigiriya proves that Inside. Attempts have been made to reduce the temperature by making water flow through the holes in the palace walls. It is believed that the art of Kurugas or Bonsai was introduced to the world for the first time through Sigiriya. As proof of this, 17 large flower pots were found in front of the rock. From the Sigiri songs written on the wall, the artistic and creative nature of the people of that time is also revealed to us in terms of language style.

A local tourist should buy a ticket of 100/=(1 STEEM) to visit Sigiriya. For Non-SAARC foreign adult it will be $30 USD(115 STEEM). For SAARC foreign adult it will be $15 USD(57 STEEM). I will bring the rest of the details about Sigiriya in the future. If you go to write all these details in the same article, it will be very long and you will get bored.

Gallery Time

Photo Topic	Sigiriya (Lion Rock) \| Beautiful Sri Lanka
Device	Google Pixel 3a
Location	Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Date	11/03/2023
Google Map Link	https://goo.gl/maps/EdVXX2y8Ra7e9C2J9

I implore everyone who reads my articles to make a trip to the tiny island of Sri Lanka. So, this concludes my brief tale. Please remember to vote the article up. I look forward to seeing you again with another travel tale. Until that Bella Ciao!!!