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Sigiriya
Desperation can also drive a man to greatness. It must have been a
mixture of fear and guilt for having his own father slain and stealing
the throne from right under his half brother's nose that motivated
King Kasyapa to erect this magnificent fortress – 'Palace
in the Sky' – in the 5th Century A.D.
| Out
of nowhere the rock rises, towering 600 feet above you. From
the base you can't see the palace, which means you'll have to
climb the equivalent of 75 floors up. A fairly healthy person
would need about two hours to get up and down, but once you're
up there, you'll find that just being on top looking down at
the vast forest below is well worth the climb. |
Click to enlarge image |
Click to enlarge image |
Halfway
up, you'll see the Sigiriya Damsels – frescoes depicting
nearly naked nymphets believed to be Kasyapa's concubines. Out
of the 500 or so original paintings, only 26 have survived mutilation
by monks who later occupied the fortress. Then there's the three-meter
high Mirror Wall where visitors to the fortress, more than a
thousand years ago, penned their thoughts on the Sigiriya Damsels. |
| Eventually
you get to a flat piece of land known as the Lion's Terrace,
where a further flight of steps leads you through what used
to be the lion's mouth, into the throat. That's the only way
in. Sigiriya means 'Lion Rock', and now we can see why. |
Click
to enlarge image |
Click to enlarge image |
Once you're at the summit, first congratulate yourself for having
made it. Then look across into the jungle and see if you can
spot a few elephants, probably ant-sized from your vantage point.
And finally, marvel at the buildings, of which the Royal Summer
House is particularly noteworthy. Here you'll find everything
carved out of living rock, from thrones to rock-and-water gardens
to bathing pools.
To think that all this came about, because one man killed his
father. |
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