Oct. 14, 2014. In the Heart of Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Last edited 8 days ago by an anonymous user

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

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Bhaktapur Durbar Square 2014

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the plaza in front of the royal palace of the old BhaktapurKingdom, 1400m above sea level.^[1] It is one of three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in the current town of Bhaktapur,also known as Bhadgoan,^[1] which lies 13 km east of Kathmandu. While the complex consists of at least four distinct squares (Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square and Pottery Square),^[2] the whole area is informally known as the Bhakapur Durbar Square and is a highly visited site in the Kathmandu Valley.

Contents 

• Major attractions
• Temples
• Layout
• History
• See also
• References
• External links

Major attractionsEdit

Durbar Area

• 55 Window Palace: Built in the 15th century, the 55 Window Palace is the dominating architectural structure in the square.^[3]
• Golden Gate: The main entrance to the palace, the golden gate is a masterpiece of artwork.^[3]
• Lion's Gate: The magnificent and beautiful gate was produced from artisans whose hands were cut off after finishing touch to them by the envious Bhadgoun king so that no more of such masterpiece would be produced again.^[3]
• Mini Pashupati Temple: The holy god Shiva temple, the mini pashupati, is believed to be built right in front of the palace after a Bhadgoan king dreamed of it.^[3]
• Vatsala Temple: The Vatsala temple is known for its dog-barking bell which is believed to producee a death knell when it is rung.^[3]
• Nyatapola Temple: Nyatapola in Newari language means five storees — the symbolic of five basic elements. This is the highest pagoda of Nepal ever built with such architectural perfection and artistic beauty.^[3]
• Bhairava Nath Temple: The Bhairava Nath temple is dedicated to the god of terror and death: Bhairava.^[3]

TemplesEdit

Erotic elephants temple — On the left just before the entrance way to the square is a hiti (water tank). A few steps before that but on the other side of the road, just 100m before the entrance way, is a tiny double-roofed Shiva-Parvati temple with some erotic carvings on its struts. One of these shows a pair of copulating elephants, in the missionary position: Kisi (elephant) Kamasutra.^[4]

Ugrachandi and Ugrabhairab — Near the main gate at the west end, one can admire a pair of multiple-armed statues of the terrible god Ugrabhairab and his counterpart Ugrachandi, the fearsome manifestation of Shiva’s consort Parvati. The statues date back to 1701 A.D. and it is said that the unfortunate sculptor had his hands cut off afterwards, to prevent him from duplicating his masterpieces. Ugrachandi has eighteen arms holding weapons, and she is in the position of casually killing a (buffalo) demon. Bhairab has twelve arms and both god and goddess are garlanded with necklaces of human heads.^[5]

Rameshwor Temple — The first temple one notices on the right of the gate is Rameshwor, in front of Gopi Nath Temple which is a Gum Baja style. It is an open shrine with four pillars and it is dedicated to Shiva. The name Rameshwor comes from that it was Ram as an incarnation of Vishnu who had the original temple of Mahadev built at Rameshwar Temple in South India.^[6]

Badrinath Temple — A small temple west of the Gopi Nath Temple locally known as Badri Narayan is dedicated to Vishnu and Narayan.^[7]

Gopi Nath Temple — Two roofed pagoda style is the Gopi Nath Temple, attached to Rameshwar Temple that houses the three deities Balaram, Subhadra and Krishna. It is difficult to see the deities as the door remains mostly closed. The temple is also known as Jagannath, which is another from taken by Vishnu. Dwarika, also known as the Krishna Temple, houses three deities, left to right: Satyabhama, Krishna and Radha. Their images are carved in stone. In the month of Mangsir (November/December), the deities are placed in a palanquin and taken around the city.^[8]

Kedarnath Temple — The terracotta made Shikara style temple is the Kedarnath (Shiva) Temple.^[9]

Hanuman Statue — The entrance to the National Art Gallery is flanked by figure of Hanuman, the monkey god, who appears in Tantric form as the four armed Hanuman Bhairab. Hanuman is worshiped for strength and the devotion.^[10]

Vatsala Devi Temple — Directly in front of the palace and beside the king’s statue and next to the Taleju Bell is the Vatsala Devi Temple. This Shikhara style temple is completely constructed in sandstone and is built upon a three stage plinth, and has similarities to the Krishna temple of Patan. It is dedicated to Vatsala Devi, a form of the goddess Durga. The temple was originally built by King Jitamitra Malla in 1696 A.D. The structure that can be seen today, however, is reconstructed by King Bhupatindra Malla and dates back to the late 17th or early 18th century. Behind the temple is a water source called Dhunge Dhara and next to it stands the Chayslin Mandap.^[11]

LayoutEdit

Bhaktapur Durbar Square in 2004

The Durbar Square proper houses the 55-window Palace which was constructed by King Jitamitra Malla and was home to royalty until 1769. It is now a national gallery. Close by is the Golden Gate which leads into Mulchok Court which is home to the Taleju Temple. This temple, like others in the main towns of the Kathmandu Valley, is dedicated to the goddess Taleju Bhawani and includes shrines to both the Taleju Bhawani and Kumari. Entrance to the temple is restricted to Hindus and the living goddess strictly cannot be photographed.

The Durbar square is surrounded by spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newari artists and craftsmen over several centuries. The royal palace was originally situated at Dattaraya square and was only later moved to the Durbar square location.

HistoryEdit

The Durbar square at Bhaktapur was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1934 and hence appears more spacious than the others, in Kathmandu and Patan.^[12]

Originally, there were 99 courtyards attached to this place, but now only 6 remain. Before the earthquake, there were 3 separate groups of temples. Currently, the square is surrounded by buildings that survived the quake.^[12]

See alsoEdit

• Durbar Square
• Patan Durbar Square
• Kathmandu Durbar Square

ReferencesEdit

1. nepalandbeyond
2. Cultural History of Nepal By Bhadra Ratha Bajracharya, Shri Ram Sharma, Shiri Ram Bakshi
3. aghtrekking
4. bhaktapur tourism development
5. bhaktapur tourism development
6. bhaktapur tourism development
7. bhaktapur tourism development
8. bhaktapur tourism development
9. bhaktapur tourism development
10. bhaktapur tourism development
11. bhaktapur tourism development
12. Nepal Handbook by Tom Woodhatch

External linksEdit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

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Oct. 14, 2014. Baktapur, Nepal

Arrived Kathmandu after a minor flight delay on landing due to weather - remnants of a typhoon from India.  Cleared customs, immigration, got my bags, and met my driver that took me to the guest house in Baktapur Square.

I am about 2 blocks from the square.  Have not explored anything.  Slept in the afternoon after back to back all nighters - one on the bus from Sinop to Ankara 

and last night on the flight from Istanbul to Kathmandu.  

Two nights without a bed was hard on this old man.

Will start taking pictures tomorrow.  Kathmandu reminds me of the interior of Mexico.  Feels similar to Oaxaca on the drive from airport.  Poor, undeveloped, third nation status, etc.

From Wiki:

Bhaktapur (Nepali: भक्तपुर Bhaktapur ), literally translates to Place of devotees. It is redeemed as the 'cultural gem'. Also known as Bhadgaon or Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: ख्वप Khwopa), it is an ancient Newar city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, about eight miles from the capital city, Kathmandu. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone.

Bhaktapur was the largest of the three Newa kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley, and was the capital of Nepal during the great "Malla "Kingdom until the second half of the 15th century. Today it is the third largest city in the Kathmandu Valley, with a population of more than 300,000, of which the vast majority are still Newars. Historically more isolated than the other two kingdoms, Kathmandu and Patan, Bhaktapur has a distinctly different form of the Nepal Bhasa .

Bhaktapur has the best preserved palace courtyards and old city center in Nepal, and is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its rich culture, temples, and wood, metal and stone artworks. This is supported by the restoration and preservation efforts of German-funded Bhaktapur Development Project (BDP).

The city is famous for special type of curd called "Ju Ju (king) dhau(curd). It is experienced by the curd makers that the taste of curd prepared in this location cannot be found elsewhere all over Nepal.

Oct. 12, 2014. Sinop Last Day

Spent the AM sleeping in, sorting my bags, throwing away old maps, boarding passes, notes, business cards, etc.  Checked out at 2, stored my backpack at the front desk and set off for town.

I have been to all the sights in Sinop in the tourist brochure, so I guess I have seen Sinop.  It was clean, safe, very American friendly and easy to negotiate city.  Busses were easy, the Antiq Otel (they had dozens of old pieces of Roman colums, marble carvings, headstones and even their own small musuem on site) staff were wonderful, weather was about perfect, even if it did rain a little this afternoon.  Was able to experienced a full moon on the Black Sea, a windy day, a sunny day and a rainy day.  Rarely needed a jacket.

Set off by bus 

for the Mosque and the Medrassa, both dating back to around 1000 AD.  

Went into the Mosque and watched the afternoon prayers and made a video.

The old Madrassa (school) was now a bunch of little shops.  Bought a little -  3 inch long - ship in a bottle as my souvineer of Sinop.  The ship in a bottle along with the memory of riding in a Turkish Police car and about 1000 photos will return to Portland.

Would really like to see Istanbul - everyone I spoke with said to go there.  Maybe a walkabout someday south from Istanbul along the Aegean down to the Mediterean then east - topping long before Syria, for obvious reasons - someday.

After walking about town, it was time to head back to the hotel.  It started to rain - but hey - I live in Portland - it was a nice end touch in the 12 day journey in Turkey.

Thought I would return to the place in town where I ate yesterday and try some of the beef tips over rice that I tasted yesterday, but they were closed.  Found a little place that was making sandwiches.

Bought a grilled chicken, pepper, onion and tomato sandwich in a big hogie bread, some chips and a liter of Coke for 10 lira, or $4.40.  There were two men customers in the store, the owner and the cook.  They all gave me thumbs up when I told them I was America.  Sinop likes Americans, primarily the older generation, I was told, because of the good impression left by the 1500 soldiers stationed at the Army base that closed about 20 years ago.

Had a nice walk in a misty rain back to the hotel.  Quaffed two beers I bought at a store - the store owner recognized me from yesterday's beer purchase and gave me a thumbs up "American!!" And a smile.

Sat in the back porch of the hotel and listened to the Black Sea crash on shore, took a few more umbrella pics and sorted and organized gear.

The hotel staff called a taxi and was off to the bus station.  The driver spoke some English and said "America good." And insisted that the fare be 20 lira even though the fare meter said 23.5 lira and insisted that he carry my bag into the bus station.  It will be a wonderful memory of Sinop, one of the three harbors on the Black Sea.......along with July and August.

Oct. 11, 2014. Sinop. In a Police Car, At the Police Station, Inside a Turkish Prison.

OFirst, a little background and history.  Please read this in its entirety.  DO NOT just look at the pictures.

Copied From Wiki:

Sinop Fortress Prison, (Turkish: Sinop Kale Cezaevi) was a state prison situated in the inside of the Sinop Fortress in Sinop, Turkey.   As one of the oldest prisons of Turkey, it was established in 1887 within the inner fortress of the centuries-old fortification located on the northwestern part of Cape Sinop. The prison was closed down in 1997 and the inmates were transferred to a modern prison newly constructed for their detention.

The Sinop Fortress in Sinop is located direct at the coast of Black Sea on the northwest part of Cape Sinop.

The Sinop Fortress was constructed initially in the 7th century BC when the city was re-founded as a Greek colony from the city of Miletus. It was extended and repaired several times in its history by Persians, Kingdom of Pontus, Romans and Byzantines. 

The fortress took its main form during the reign of Pontus King Mithradates Eupator in 72 BC.

The oldest document that shows the fortress was used as dungeon dates back to 1568.  The walls of the fortress are 18 m high and 3 m wide. 

There are eleven watchtowers of 22 meters in height, five of them added during the construction of the inner fortress.

Designed in U-shape, a stone masonry prison building with 28 halls on two floors was erected in 1887 in the inside of the southern inner fortress.  The inner fortress holding the prison facilities covers an area of 10,247 m2.

The prison was considered as a high-security penitentiary with no escape possibility due to its position within a fortress. The top of the walls of the inner fortress served to the patrolling prison guard as walkway.   The living conditions at the prison, where it was difficult even to light a match, were very harsh due to the moisture caused by the location of the prison very close to the sea.

The prison was abandoned on December 6, 1997 after the inmates were transferred to a newly built prison.

The prison facilities were handed over to the Culture and Tourism Ministry on August 2, 1999.  The fortress prison is currently open to the public for sightseeing purposes. Originated from the increasingly presentation of the prison in the recent popular culture, there is a growing interest in visiting the site. The historical penitentiary hosts hundreds of thousands tourists yearly.

The prison hosted also many intellectuals, who were charged for political reasons.

Now, as Paul Harvey would say.......The rest of the story.......

Last night, the Antik Otel Reception Manager, Seyit Sen, spent 30 minutes assisting me with booking a bus to Ankara tomorrow.  He speaks English very well.

Luckily, we did the booking when we did.   Seyit contacted the bus line I rode in on from Trabzon - Ulusoy Bus Line - and they had only 2 busses to Ankara.   One was arriving too late for me connect to my flight to Kathmandu.  So I had one choice with Ulusoy.  There was only one seat left on the bus and I excitedly said, "Yes, yes, reserve it!!"

Today, after breakfast with Yasaar Durucu, I updated the blog, transferred photos, etc.  Then I set out to pick up my ticket at Ulusoy down by the harbor in Sinop.  I jumped on a bus and then walked the rest of the way into town.  Just happened by the ship shop I  went  in yesterday and asked the owner for directions.  He drew me a great map and tried to explain the directions, but alll I needed was his map.

At Usuloy I met with the first real difficulty in communication in my trip, when I desperately needed to communicate.  The young girl spoke no English and was not interested in helping me.  I tried to explain that I had a reservation in my name tomorrow, 10/12  at 10:30 PM.  She just repeatedly shook her head "No".

Tried finding someone to help and found a lady at the store next door that spoke some English.  Even with her help, all I heard was "no, no, no, Metro, Metro".

Set out to find The Metro Bus office but ended up walking in circles for 30 minutes.   Friendly people tried to help, but their directions were......faulty.

I was getting a bit frantic.  I MUST get to Ankara, 8 hours buy bus, within 48 hours or I will miss my flight to Kathmandu.  A flight will cost hundreds of dollars - if I can even get one........

I walked over to the Tourist kiosk, 3 blocks away, down by the harbor and the tea gardens.  They were closed.  Across the street was a Police Station, so I went in. "Speak English?".   One young Officer spoke a very small amount of English.  "Metro bus, Metro Bus" I said.  I showed maps, and kept asking "Where Metro Bus?"

Finally, one of the officers said "We go Metro bus".  And just like that, I was off in the backseat of a Sinop Police car with three friendly Sinop Police Officers.  At Metro we were able to book a bus at the same time, for 55 lira, not without some communication difficulty, departing Sinop at 10:30 PM tomorrow night, arriving Ankara at 6 AM, 9 hours before my flight to Kathmandu.

The Officers asked if I had otell.  I said "Antik Otel".

They asked  "You go riide to Antik Otel?"  I thought for an instant and said "Yes, we go Antik Otel" and just like that, all 4 of us were off again in the Police car.  I thought, " How cool is this?  A free taxi ride in a Police car in Sinop, Turkey.  I will just take the bus from the hotel and head back to the prison for another walkabout.  This will make a great story and will be a fitting prelude for my visit to the Sinop Prison Fortress in the afternoon".

And it was a pleasure to write about it and relive the day in today's blog.   Hope you enjoyed it too.

On Walkabout and loving it.

Oct. 11, 2014. Breakfast with Yasar Durucu

I had the most enjoyable conversation this morning over breakfast.  II had met Yasar Durucu yesterday as I was attempting to change rooms - to a room with a view - but we did not introduce ourselves.   

The reception attendant did not speak English and Yasar heard me attempting to converse and he offered to translate. He graciously helped me convey my desire to change hotel rooms to a room with a view. 

This morning I was down at the beach taking pictures of the sunrise and thought I would go into the restaurant to have a cup of coffee.  While getting my coffee, I recognized Yasar and said "Good Morning".  I asked if he would mind if I joined him for breakfast and he said "Please do."  After trading pleasantries - where are you from,  are you traveling alone, do you have any children, where are you going next, where have you been - our conversation switched. 

On the 50" flat screen TV in the restaurant, aTurkish CNN was reporting on all the violence in southern Turkey on the border with Syria.  We talked about the war against Syria,  Asaad, ISIS, beheadings and the war war in Iraq following 9/11. 

Speaking of ISIS, he said, "They are not Muslims.  In our faith if you kill someone like that you will not go to Muslim heaven.  They are not Muslim."

He talked about war all around Turkey - to the north in the Crimea/Ukraine vs Russia, Syria to the south, Iraq to the SE and beyond Bulgaria to the west in Bosnia.

He said "War everywhere around Turkey.  They are all trying to drag Turkey into their wars.  We do not want to fight. We are friendly people."

I said,  "There has always been war.  There was war here in Synop 4000 years ago.  Look at the Castle and fortifications here in Synop.  It is what humans do, have done and will do forever."

I asked him what he thought it would be like in Syria and Iraq in 60 years, when his 2 children (boys 2 months and 18 months old) are my age.  He said "There will be another big war....World War III.  

I left it at that.

The conversation then changed to Palestine and Israel and the ongoing conflict there that I said, "That  will never end."  He described the growth of land controlled by Israel since 1948 -  the Golan Heights, The West Bank, Gaza.  Russian Jews immigrating to Israel and Israeli support for immigrants to increase their population.

I asked "Are there Jewish people in Turkey?"  He replied " Yes, yes, many.  Turkey has all religions - Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist - all religions."

We talked about Istanbul, his hometown. He talked about travel south from Istanbul along the western coast of Turkey along the Aegean.    We also talked about travel along the Mediterranean and how it differs from travel along the northern Black Sea coast.  "More tourists."  

I said, " That is why I am here."

It was the most interesting conversation I have had since I have been in Turkey.  We talked for almost an hour.

He gave me his business card and email and nvited me to come and visit him in Istanbul.

On Walkabout.

Oct. 10, 2014. Walking About Sinop

October 10, 2014. 

Left Antik Otel and started walking this morning.  After walking 1/4 mile a bus honked at me and then stopped.  I hopped on the bus not knowing where it was going but thought "I am at the base of a peninsula and the bus is either going to the end of the peninsula or inland.  How can I possibly get lost?"

 I rode the bus for about 2 miles until I saw the remains of the old city wall and castle fortifications, dating back to 2000 BC. 

The castle walls are still intact although they are crumbling. I walked around the castle walls and then down to the beach and took dozens of photographs. 

I then took off walking to the north along the narrow city streets and stopped at a window that was the shop of a knife maker. I went inside and was greeted in fluent English by the shop owner. We talked knives and about Sinop and the US Army base a mile north, at the top of the peninsula headland (the northernmost point in Turkey, the closest point in Turkey to Crimea and the Ukraine, due north across the Black Sea.  Doubtlessly, it was a military listening post.) that had 1500 personnel and closed in 1992. 

We spoke for 30 minutes. I met his son who he  is teaching how to make knives. The knife making business was his father's and his grandfather's. He was about 70.  He invited me to have tea and we stood and talked for 45 minutes. He was fluent in English and explained much about the city to me. I left the knife store and continued walking about. 

I then went to the archaeological Museum and spent 45 minutes looking at all of the displays. 

Sinop receives few tourists - sometimes from cruise ships that talk in the harbor, but by and large it is not a tourist town. You do not see T-shirt shops, stores selling bumper stickers that say I Heart Sinop, baseball hats and other tourist kitsch. 

Stopped a model boat builder shop and talked with the shopkeeper - he spoke little English, but he offere me tea.  

The weather was absolutely perfect, sunny with a strong breeze and about 70°F. The castle walls of old Sinop wind throughout the end of the peninsula. While walking around I saw some steps leading up to the top of the castle wall. I wound my way through some gardens and a through aclosed outdoor restaurant and found the base of the stairs and climbed up to the top of the fortress wall.

At the top of the castle walls there was a magnificent view to the north and to the south along the peninsula. 

At the top, there was a small restaurant that serves tea, beer and other drinks. I stopped and had a beer atop the wall and enjoyed the view across the Black Sea. 

I think I have taken over 1500 pictures so far. At this rTe I will take about 10,000 on my 101 day journey.  Taking pictures today is so much different than 20 years ago. Everybody has cell phones and everybody is taking pictures  - ttaking selfies - and constantly staring into their phones so taking pictures is not an uncomfortable thing to do.

Walked back to the Antik Otel - it took over an hour but it was a glorious afternoon for a walk.

Went to my new room - a room with a view, you are wondering?

Had a beer then took a swim in the saltwater pool.  No one was there but me.

Had an excellent grilled sea bass dinner overlooking the Black Sea and called a good day.  

On Walkabout,

Byron