Steem women's club community contest #6 Promoting my favorite city : It's Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura is a major city, situated in North Central province in Sri Lanka. As an ancient capital in Sri Lanka there are so many ruins there. Those are the best examples of ancient Sri Lankan irrigation civilization, irrigation technology and architecture. King Pandukabhaya was the founding ruler of the kingdom of Anuradhapura.

Since then, many kings have ruled there. It is also a center of Theravada Buddhism. There are thousands of temples, stupas and monasteries built for the development of Buddhism. Hundreds of lakes built by ancient kings are still providing water for farming.

Today it's one of the oldest continuously inhibited cities in the world and one of eight world heritage sites in Sri Lanka.

This is the sacred tree in Mahamewna garden which is the southern branch of the historical Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi at Budda gaya in India. It has planted in 288 BC. and still lives with the respect and love of the Buddhist people all around the world. Sri Maha Bodhi resides in a very high place in the hearts of many people in Sri Lanka too.

This stupa was built by king Dutugemunu, one of the greatest kings in Sri Lanka. Inside of this stupa consist two quarts or one drona of the Lord buddha's relics which is the largest collection of his relics anywhere. The stupa is one of the world's tallest ancient monuments.

It' s a ruined building situated in Anuradhapura. The roof of this building was covered with bronze tiles and believed that the building was adorned with corals and precious stones. . It has taken six years for the construction and the nine storey building has accommodated 1000 monks. Though the building was completely destroyed, the ruins of the building are still remaining. It' s a great construction with high architectural qualities. The small building displayed now is a recent construction.

There is a heart breaking story behind the kala wewa which was built by king Dathusena. So I will summarize it. King Dathusena one of the greatest kings in Sri Lanka has built this major lake. All the wealth he had, had to pay for this construction. After that his son kashyapa asked to the king Dathusena to give his inherited wealth and king has showed Kalawewa as the only wealth he had. Kashyapa has got angry, and has killed kills his father. Though it's a sad story the lake still conveys water to feed thousands of acres of paddy lands. Do we need more evidence to say that King Dathusena was a great king?

It has capacity of 123 million and carry water to Thisa wawa(another lake) at a slope of 6 inches per mile and we are still wondering about that technology. The Buddha statue named as Awkana Buddha statue infront of the Kala wewa is believed as King Dathusena's another creation. The creation is wonderful and one of the best examples of the excellence of past artists.

Not only those few places, there are so many places, great constructions and creations In Anuradhpura. One day I will share all those.

Anuradhapura is a living testament to the ancient Sri Lankan irrigation technology, architecture, artistic talents, water irrigation technology and all that. Some of it's carvings and architectural marvels still amaze the world. As a place where the sweet scent of Buddhism prevails, its air fills the mind with a strange comfort. Thousands of paddy fields fulfill the food needs of the people of the country.

Many beautiful villages are still left with genuine people. People are going to worship the sacred places there with the true reverence for the Buddha.
So when I consider all those things it's hard for me to dream of a better city than Anuradhapura. Really proud and really happy because it belongs to my country.

Thank you so much for reading!!!
@steemcurator01 and @steemcurator02 thank you so much for the support.