Prambanan is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in South East Asia. Built over a thousand years ago, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is located near the Javanese city of Yogyakarta. Unfortunately a 2006 earthquake caused major damage to the site rendering much of it unstable and off-limit to visitors.
August 5, 2009
Itself conceived as one giant stupa, Borobudur is adorned with a further 72 individual stupas, each housing a statue of the Buddha. Each level of the monument represents a level of consciousness on the path towards enlightenment, until ultimately at the very top, there remains one giant empty stupa – enlightenment and the banishment of… [Read more…]
August 5, 2009
Borobudur is a giant Buddhist monument located in central Java, Indonesia. Built over 1,200 years it is in essence a vast stupa, decorated with over 2,000 bas relief panels and 500 individual statues of the Buddha. Long after Islam had replaced Buddhism as the major religion in the Indonesian archipelago, locals still revered the place… [Read more…]
November 22, 2008
The Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, India, is the supreme shrine in Sikhism. Kept within the temple is the Sikh Holy Scripture. In 1984, the temple complex was the site of a bloody battle between Indian soldiers and Sikh militants hiding inside. The desecration of the shrine and the deaths of many civilians… [Read more…]
November 9, 2008
The monumental east gate of the Jama Masjid or Friday Mosque at the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri. Once the capital of Mughal emperor Akbar, the city was abandoned not long after it was built, probably due to lack of water. Uttar Pradesh, India.
November 6, 2008
Jaipur, once capital of one of Rajasthan’s most powerful princely states, became known as the Pink City in the 19th century when the Maharaja ordered that the city centre be painted pink (a welcoming colour) to celebrate the visit of the Prince of Wales. It’s not so pink these days with alot of buildings now… [Read more…]
November 6, 2008
Decaying murals still adorn this once-grand haveli or residence in the Shekhawati district of Rajasthan. These 19th century residences were built by local traders who had made their fortunes elsewhere in India and were keen to show their neighbours how successful and worldly they were. The murals and frescoes give their less-travelled neighbours a glimpse… [Read more…]
November 6, 2008
Detail of the Qutb Minar, a victory tower in south Delhi, India, inspired by similar structures in central Asia and commissioned by the Delhi sultans to commemorate the military victories and rule in India. It is reputedly the tallest brick minaret in the world.
November 3, 2008
A Muslim Indian man with friendly, smiling eyes. Muslims make up a substantial minority (over 100 million) in India. But recent politics, the partition of 1947 along religious grounds and a resurgent Hindu nationalism which seems Islam as little more than a foreign invasion threatens to upset the friendly relations that no doubt many Indian… [Read more…]
November 3, 2008
This man is the main caretaker of Alamgir Mosque in the ancient Indian city of Varanasi. It was constructed under the orders of Muslim Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and is perched atop Panchganga Ghat, overlooking the river Ganges. It is one of several large mosques in Varanasi, some of which were built over destroyed Hindu temples,… [Read more…]
August 27, 2009
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