Anuradhapura

Like Polannuruwa, Anuradhapura is actually a city with ruins of many monasteries and temples from the days when it was the capital of Sri Lanka. I started at Isurumuni Raja Maha Viharaya and the nearby pleasure park.

I guess the king's pleasure park was nearby so he could easily follow a bit of debauchery with some humble abiding.

The model of the Thuparama Vatadage is interesting. I would never have guessed that some of these massive stupas were once enclosed in a building. The model is a bit of a ruin itself.

Scaffolding for real men. As you can tell from the ladder in the left foreground, the ladders up The Great Stupa are made of bamboo with the rungs tied in place.  The scaffolding at the top is also bamboo and reminds one of that game with a stack of sticks that you try to not knock down.

The Sri Maha Bodhi at Anaradhapura was grown from a shoot taken from the original Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India under which the Buddha sat and became enlightened. The tree in India was later destroyed by the wife of King Asok when she became jealous over the kings attention to Buddhism. The tree at Bodh Gaya today is from a shoot off the tree at Anaradhapura; thus, while it is a genuine descendant of the original tree, it is actually the tree at Anaradhapura that is the closest to the original tree. Today, there are actually multiple trees here.  The branch to the left being supported by golden posts is part of the original tree.

The steps up to a temple building are typically flanked by balustrades and guard stones and at the base of the steps will have a moon stone, a half circle stone with meaningful images on them. These are showcase examples.

The Abhayagiri stupa being restored. If you look closely, you will see a chain-gang of soldiers passing bricks up the side of the stupa to a team at the base of the rectangular part just below the crown.