Temple Mount is a very important site for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. It is a beautiful courtyard in East Jerusalem and is defined to be one of the holiest sites in the world. The al-Asqa Mosque is a sight to see, and since it was a beautiful day when I was there, I went nuts trying to capture it’s beauty shooting from all angles. This shot was one of my favorites of what I captured. The walled arch in the picture is called the scales of judgement, believed to be the place where people would be judged before entering the gates of heaven. Note the sundial on the arch. Israel is filled with religious history and a must see for anyone interested in the subject. Shot with my Sputnik, on Fuji Provia 100f. 
Tag Archives: temple
Kathmandu Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal 2016
Kathmandu Durbar Square is an incredible area of Kathmandu, filled with old temples originally built and rebuilt from around the third century. We arrived one year after a major earthquake damaged many buildings in this square. It still held up it’s integrity and prestige even after most of the damage. Sadly some of the temples were reduced to rubble and were only recognizable by placards set up by the tourist government. Due to the damage to Nepal and to it’s infrastructure, there seemed to be less tourists than we had anticipated while we were there, and allowed us to explore most areas in less crowded situations. This shot was taken in the early morning, while locals were out feeding the pigeons. Shot on my Sputnik, on Provia 100f film.
Sigiriya Rock Temple, Sri Lanka
Sigiriya meaning ‘Lion Rock’ is a giant rock structure that is surrounded by jungle in the middle of Sri Lanka. It’s like nowhere else that I’ve been and something out of an Indiana Jones movie. We stayed in a tiny hostel which was so close to Sigiriya that you could see it from our hostel room and within walking distance to the entrance. Luckily we were told that the place opened at 8am by our hostel hosts, which was not what our guidebook had said. The book said that it opened at 9am, and the place was FULL by 10am with busloads of tourists. We were literally the first people to walk in and what an amazing experience it was! There are two Sigiriyas, people called them Little Sigiriya and Big Sigiriya. The big one is what you see in the distance (standing at over 600 feet high) while we were standing on top of little Sigiriya. What was great about little Sigiriya was the fact that it was a jungle hike to get there and much cheaper to visit. If you ever go there, I highly recommend visiting both since they both offer different and amazing experiences in their own right. The structures located on top of big Sigiriya are the foundations of former fortresses and the home of the king of the region, named King Kashyapa who reined in the mid 5th Century. After his death it became a Buddhist monastery until the 14th Century. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage site and hopefully well protected for many more years to come. These Rhesus monkeys you see here were a little out of focus, I must have been too close to them, or didn’t stop down my aperture enough to get them all sharp. Either way, I still like the shot and hope you do as well. Shot on my Sputnik on Fuji Provia 100F film.
Borobudur Temple, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Located in Central Java, Indonesia, it’s a wonderful place to visit. Before heading to Indonesia, I wanted to make sure to put this on my list of places to visit. It’s an incredible temple with layers and layers (like a layered cake) representing the different stages of enlightenment to reach a final state of Nirvana. It was built originally in the mid-8th Century to 9th Century AD. Once it was abandoned and then ‘rediscovered’ by a British Colonist who then hired a Dutch engineer to excavate and rebuild the structure. It took his team over 4 years to rebuild, however volcanic eruptions, erosion, and even terrorists have beat the structure down throughout the years. Luckily, with the help of UNESCO and tourism, it has been restored to as close to what they think it was like in it’s original state as possible. We visited it in a different way at first, in fact it was from a distance that I got a shot of it in the early morning pre-dawn light. The visit consisted of a hike and motorbike ride to an adjacent hillside. We later went back down the valley and into the entrance the same day. Made for a long day for sure! This shot is of a bas relief, one of over 2,600, that covers the structure. A must see if you’re ever in Java! Shot with my Sputnik on Fuji Provia 100F film.
Chendebji Chorten, Trongsa, Bhutan
There are a plethora of temples and monasteries in Bhutan, but this Chorten is unusual, even for Bhutan. Dedicated to protect Bhutan’s people from evil spirits, it was built along the same framework as the Bouddhanath Stupa in Nepal. When we arrived, we were alone except for one lone woman who was walking the grounds, praying. We slowly took our time crossing the field, while I tried to get the perfect shot of the Chorten with the full 3D effect. Luckily, the woman decided to make her way over to us, and I got this shot. Unfortunately my Sputnik wasn’t performing well on this trip and was mostly due to my left lens being out of focus. However, this shot was acceptable to me. In the background on the left, you can see our guide, making his prayer rounds at another nearby smaller temple. Shot this on Fuji Provia 100F film.
Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Ayutthaya, Thailand
Ayutthaya is a city just 40 minutes north of Bangkok by train in Thailand. The town itself is not too impressive, but the ruins of old Ayutthaya, are fascinating. Ayutthaya was once the capital of Thailand, or Siam. It’s inner cities, surrounded by water moats, can be navigated by renting a bicycle for just a few dollars a day. Lots of biking is needed to cover all of the grounds, and at least 2 days are needed to really take it all in.
While exploring the city, you come across multiple Buddhist statues, most of them being headless. The head of Buddha was always redeemed as being highly sought after for it’s spiritual properties, so it was often stolen. The one I photographed was no exception. There are also notable spots where fire destroyed some of the structures during the sacking of the city by the Burmese, back in 1767. Ayutthaya was one of my favorite cities in Thailand, and one of the most memorable. In fact, I named our rescued Siamese cat after it. The name suits her well.
Overall, Ayutthaya was a great place to photograph in 3D. Tons of little alleys, and corridors of ruins. I shot this with my Sputnik, on Fuji Provia 100f.