This morning starts with a surprise and a little adrenaline rush for me. As I’m about to put on my walking shoes, I’m lost in thought, as I often am. Before I put my foot into the shoe, I hit it with the heel on the ground. Probably subconsciously the shoe seemed a bit heavy to me, because I don’t normally do that …. Anyway, the result was a yelp on my part.
Please …
… scroll …
… down.
Probably the frog was at least as startled as I was. And almost certainly I would have been more dangerous to the frog than he was to me.Sigiriya is the name of a former fortress built before 500 AD on a freestanding rock about 200 meters high. Do I need to add that this is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site? 😉One walks over partly ancient and partly new stairs at the steep wall upwards.
On the west side of the rock there is or was a huge picture gallery, 140 meters long and 40 meters high. Today, very little of it remains, and it is mostly very slim and very full-breasted ladies. At one time there must have been 500 of them.
On the penultimate platform there was originally a huge sculpture of a lion, through which one climbed up to the main fortress proper. Presumably this sculpture gave Sigiriya the name “Lion Rock”. Unfortunately, the lion’s head collapsed at some point.At the top, there is not much left to see of the fortress. But the view is incredible in all directions.view from the fortress down to the (former) Lion Gate
