My excitement before going on a trip has
now become something of a ritual. As usual, I didn’t sleep the night before
because I was so eager to get started on my journey. I remember lying in bed at
2 AM thinking ‘go to sleep… you need to be up at 5 AM’, but I couldn’t find a
way to get some shut eye till much later.
Polonnaruwa was our destination this time
because I hadn’t been to see the ancient city in years. I had passed through
several times but hadn’t stopped to visit the ruins and soak in the rich
history. We stayed at Galkadawala, a
three storied nature friendly cottage close to Habarana which was bordering a
quiet lake.
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| Galkadawala |
Our day around the UNESCO World Heritage
Site, Polonnaruwa, started with a visit to the Archaeological Museum which was
where everyone has to get their entrance tickets to the historical sites in the
city. I was slightly unimpressed by the museum but it was a good start to the
day because it had scale models of what the temples and palaces would have
looked like in their prime which gave me a better visualisation of how it all
looked when I visited the sites.
The capital was moved to Polonnaruwa from
Anuradhapura by King Vijayabahu I, the son of King Moggallana [remember him
from my blog on the Sigiriya Rock Fortress?] after he defeated invaders from
South India called the Chola’s. Although it was King Vijayabahu I that
established the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, it is King Parakramabahu the great who
is better known. It was during his reign that the capital flourished. He
expanded the city and constructed many irrigation systems and monuments. There
is an impressive eleven-foot stone statue of King Parakramabahu close to the
new town so we visited that first. Pothgul
Viharaya, the oldest library complex in Sri Lanka is located near the
statue. It is a circular building and has small stupas in each of its four
corners. There are also ruins of housing in which bikkus [Buddhist monks] would have resided. It was a promising start
to the day that lay ahead!
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| The stone carved statue of King Parakramabahu |
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| Me at the Pothgul Viharaya |
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| Ruins of Bikku Housing |
We then visited the Audience Hall and the
Royal Palace. The Royal Citadel built by King Parakramabahu used to have seven
stories and walls more than three metres thick. Although the remnants of the
palace still stand tall, it’s not easy to imagine the seven floors that once
stood when you look at the ruins as they are today. But visiting the museum at
the start of the tour helped me to see how magnificent it would have looked
back then and standing there, I could almost picture the activity that went on
in and around those walls.
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| The Audience Hall |
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| The stone pillars of the Audience Hall |
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| The delicate carvings on the stone pillars |
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| The front view of King Parakramabahu's Royal Palace |
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| The back view of the Royal Citadel |
We next visited the Siva Temple and Thuparamaya. The Siva temple, with its
hindu style of construction was a contrast to the other stupas and monastery
ruins that surrounded it. Thuparamaya, which
was built during the reign of King Vijayabahu I, is a brick built gedige or vaulted shrine that is very
well preserved. It is one of the few ruins in the country that has its roof
still intact.
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| The Siva Temple |
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| The Hindu style of construction |
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| Thuparamaya |
Walking around in the April heat was
starting to drain our energy even though it was only half a day that had gone
by. We decided to take a break from the ruins and indulge in some lunch. We got
rice and curry lunches packed in banana leaves and found a scenic spot on the edge
of the Parakrama Samudra. The Parakrama Samudra [sea of Parakrama] was
King Parakramabahu’s greatest construction. One of the largest manmade lakes in
the world, spreading over an area of 5940 acres, the sea of Parakrama is one of
the city’s most remarkable features. After a short dip in the lake, we ate our tasty
Sri Lankan lunch complete with fried weva-maalu [lake fish]. The rest of our
day was filled with more heritage and culture and will be revealed to you on my
next post! Till then; live, love, dream and travel!
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