Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress located in the city of Dabulla, central Provence of Sri Lanka. The rock is around 200 meters high and according to the ancient history this was selected as the capital by king Kashyapa I(477 – 495 CE) and build his palace on top of the rock. Half way to the top there is a cave with painting of Sigiriya ladies (Apsara) on the wall, there are two difference theories about this paintings,
- They are human beings - the queens, princesses and maids of the court of Kassapa I.
- They are representing spiritual beings; semi-divine nymphs known as “apsaras”, or a class of divine beings like goddesses.
For more details, you can check this article "The Sigiriya Ladies: Who were they, why were they painted?" by former Sri Lankan Archaeological Commissioner Dr. Raja De Silva
More details about "Sigiriya", please visit Wikipedia page
I took some photos of "Sigiri Apsarawo" (the panting of Sigiriya Ladies) when I visited Sigiriya, so here are my photo's
The ancient city of Sigiriya has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Sri Lankan authorities have done a excellent work to conserve this heritage site.
To be continue -More photo's of "Sigiriya" in next post...
