Sigiriya

Rain — hard rain — began our day. Even with umbrellas, we weren’t totally dry by the time we walked from our cabin to breakfast. Our tour leader assured us that it could stop, or that it might not be raining at all at our morning destination, about 15 miles away. We were skeptical. But sure enough, about the time the bus arrived at the “car park,” the rain ceased. Everything was still pretty muddy, but the sun even peeked through the clouds occasionally.

The place we had arrived is Sigiri (of Sigiriya, depending on which sign is being read), a World Heritage site. It is a large granite rock outcrop that rises sharply more than 100 meters (roughly 350 feet) straight out of the surrounding plain. There is evidence that it has been an object of fascination for humans since prehistoric times.

But the most important use was by King Kasyapa I, who ruled in this area from 477-495 CE. Kasyapa was not the crown prince, but managed to usurp the throne by a palace intrigue which led to the premature death of his father, and to a number of his brothers and half-brothers fleeing to India. Under the circumstances, one speculates that Kasyapa might have had trouble sleeping soundly at night. After all, it’s not paranoia if people really ARE out to get you!

Kasyapa turned the Sigiri rock into a fortress/palace, somewhat reminiscent of King Herod’s Masada in Israel (though not quite as large). The grand palace, with temples, bathing pools, and all the amenities, was located on the top. He also built a huge lion head and paws on one end of the rock to make the entire complex look, from a distance, like a giant cat laying, sphinx-like, on the Sri Lankan plain.

He surrounded the rock with a complete city for members of his court (including almost a thousand concubines) laid out in perfect symmetry, with pools and gardens that could make the entire complex self-sufficient in case of seige. The entire complex was surrounded by a large mote. The layout of the gardens and pools is very similar to the pattern used in many Roman settlements, and there is speculation that the designers had some sort of contact with or knowledge of the Roman Empire.

Another feature of the rock is that Kasyapa had the walkway up to the top decorated with paintings of beautiful “angels” of the Hindu tradition, some of which have been remarkably well-preserved. They are depicted as floating on clouds and dropping flowers on the visitors approaching below them.

Most are bare-breasted and “generously endowed.” Fifth-century porn stars? Later visitors inscribed graffiti on a smooth wall opposite the paintings, commenting on their attributes.
It’s a trip of some 900 steps up to the top of the rock, and the narrow stairways are extremely crowded with thousands of tourists from everywhere in the world, many pushing and shoving. Five of us made it to the top, where the view would have been spectacular had it not been for the fog and drizzle. It was a hot, sweaty trip.

Kasyapa’s efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. After ruling for 18 years (probably about the time it took to complete Sigiriya), his half-brother and legitimate heir to the thrown returned from India with an army and overthrew him. The new king rejected his brother’s pleasure-loving lifestyle, and turned Sigiriya over to Buddhist monks to use as a monastery. The monastery continued in operation until sometime in the 12th or 13th centuries CE, when, for reasons unknown, the site was abandoned. Locals revealed it to British archaeologists in the 1890s.

We returned to the hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes, then reboarded the bus to drive to a rural area for a traditional “home-cooked” rice and curry lunch. The “home” turned out to be a much bigger operation than we had envisioned, and there were several tour buses already there. The kitchen was definitely rustic, and cooking was being done over open wood fires.

It was quite a spread of dishes, but the food was prepared with tourists in mind, thus it was so devoid of spices as to be nearly tasteless. Nevertheless, several in our group who do not appreciate spices considered it the best meal they had had here thus far.

After lunch we drove to another World Heritage site called Polonnaruva. This is a large temple complex dating from around the 10th and 11th centuries, including both Buddhist and Hindu temples, as well as a few dozen stupas.

One structure unique to Sri Lanka is a stupa that had originally been roofed over by a circular pavilion. The pavilion featured Buddha statues facing each of the four cardinal directions. Another featured four huge Buddha statues in various poses, all carved from a single, huge block of granite.

After 900 steps in the morning, and walking over quite a distance through the temple complex, we were all dragging. A couple of people even elected to skip dinner. We all went to our beds exhausted and slept very soundly.