Steps lead down to the cool waters of the smaller of the Kuttam Pokuna (twin ponds) built by King Aggabodhi I of Anuradhapura in the 6th century, as bathing pools for the Buddhist monks of the nearby Abhayagiri Viharaya. While this pool is 91ft x 51ft, its nonidentical twin is more than a third of a length longer, at 132ft. The smaller northern pool was reserved for the use of the monastery’s senior monks, while the larger could accommodate as many as 5,000 junior monks. The Kuttam Pokuna are entirely of granite, and water is fed to them from three reservoirs, via an intricate system of underground piping, and then drained to the Malwatu Oya. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘The First Kingdom of Lanka‘, ran in the February 2017 issue.
Granite steps lead down to the cool waters of the larger of the two nonidentical Kuttam Pokuna (twin ponds). Built by King Aggabodhi I of Anuradhapura in the 6th century as bathing pools for the Buddhist monks of the nearby Abhayagiri Viharaya, the basins are entirely of granite. Water is fed to the Kuttam Pokuna from three reservoirs through an intricate system of underground piping, and then drained to the Malwatu Oya, flowing to the east . Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘The First Kingdom of Lanka‘, ran in the February 2017 issue.
Concrete blocks set into the face of the 117m Abhayagiriya stupa serve as footholds for maintenance workers needing to climb to the top of the dagaba. It would take an electrician with nerves of steel to replace the light bulbs at the pinnacle. Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. December 2016.Continue reading “The Steps of Viriya”→
Just under 75m tall, the Abayagiri Dagaba was built by King Valagamba of Anuradhapura in the 1st century BC; erected on the site of a destroyed Jain monastery, after the kingdom was recaptured from the Cholas. December 2017.
Son of the Morning Light 