Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/01/28

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Travels
From: jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj)
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:04:52 +0530
References: <AANLkTi=tOoLn-5DV_787PdmL-Hji-a-uj2Ok_CJ03Y6C@mail.gmail.com> <85415C85-6254-41D0-8D91-4E4931E6611F@frozenlight.eu>

Nathan,
Thanks for looking. When you have a historical timeline as long as ours,
there is nothing that does not have an interesting story attached.
Cheers
Jayanand

On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:39 AM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at 
frozenlight.eu>wrote:

> Interesting story about the temple destructions and the (non)destruction of
> the last one. A Portuguese friend once said to me that the Spanish were
> smarter than the Portuguese after the Reconquista. In Portugal, most 
> Moorish
> buildings were destroyed, in Spain they were kept and are today major
> tourists attractions, with Alhambra in Granada as the most prominent
> example.
>
> Cheers,
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.nathanfoto.com
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>
> YNWA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 22, 2011, at 2:59 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj wrote:
>
> > Three from the state of Gujarat in Western India.
> >
> > The first is photo of the great temple of Somnath, the moon god, besides
> the
> > Arabian Sea in western India. The temple is historically and religiously
> > very significant - it was sacked and destroyed six times between 725AD
> and
> > 1701AD by Muslim invaders and rulers, and rebuilt six times. The present
> > temple was built after independence in 1947 and is called the Seventh
> > Temple. The security is considerable - because of its history, it is a
> prime
> > target for Islamic terrorists, who would love to blow it up again:
> >
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/_1060359-Edit.jpg.html
> >
> > To emphasise the mix that is India, 70 km away from Somnath is Junagadh,
> > which was, prior to independence an Islamic state. It has a very
> > interesting but rather poorly maintained fort - here is a tourist couple
> > relaxing there:
> >
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/_1060489-Edit.jpg.html
> >
> > The last photo is of a Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat built in 1026. It
> was
> > sacked by Allaudin Khilji in 1296 - he was also responsible for the third
> > destruction of Somnath. Luckily for us, he did not destroy the temple
> > completely. Since Hindus will not worship a defaced idol, he just broke a
> > limb from every depiction of a God in the friezes and sculptures adorning
> > the temple, thus making it unfit for worship. The temple has the most
> > beautiful sculptures possible, though like all Sun Temples, a few of them
> > depict graphic sex which had a deep religious significance, lesbians and
> > group sex included! It is not a large complex, but it is like a small
> jewel.
> > It is built so that the first rays of sunlight on the May and September
> > equinoxes illuminate the (missing) deity in the  inner sanctum:
> >
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/_1060726-Edit.jpg.html
> >
> > C&C, as always, welcome
> >
> > Cheers
> > Jayanand
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>


Replies: Reply from pasvorn at boonmark.net (Pasvorn Boonmark) ([Leica] Travels)
In reply to: Message from jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj) ([Leica] Travels)
Message from photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman) ([Leica] Travels)