Ambuluwawa Tower

 

 "Ambuluwawa Tower is located in the suburbs of Gampola Town in Sri Lanka. There has been an increased popularity in recent times especially due to the breathtaking views you can experience when you climb to the top of the Ambuluwawa Tower. It is also known for its narrow spiral staircase which some visitors find challenging to climb. It is one of the coolest places to visit in Sri Lanka if you are up for the challenge.

 Amazing engineering technology in Sigiriya

This rock king is not just a mountain peak but a national heritage. Not only that, the Sigiri Rock King and the ruins around it are not only known as the eighth wonder of the world today, but have also been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

When considering the kingdoms of Sri Lanka, the kingdom of Sigiriya holds a special importance. Prince Kasyapa, who comes to rule the state after King Dhatusena, establishes state power before his brother in association with Sigiriya. This is the history of our country. W. 477 period.

When talking about Sigiriya, we can talk about it through several aspects. Sigiri news is really a wonderful story. Many of our historical sources, including the Mahavamsa, have given an important place to the period of the Sigiri kingdom.

Sigiriya is a big rock. King Kasyapa built his kingdom on top of this rock. Why choose a rock like this when there is so much space on earth to build a kingdom? This is a question that historians cannot explain even today.

Some say that Sigiriya is a kingdom. And another group calls Sigiriya a fortress. Not only that, many artists call this “#alakamandava”.

AD W. King Dhatusena, who reigned in #Anuradhapura in 460, had two sons. Agabisawa's son was Moggolla. The second queen's son was named Kasyapa. According to the royal tradition, the prince of Agabisava would inherit the crown after his father, but in a conspiracy, prince Kasyapa usurped the power of the kingdom by killing his father. Accordingly, Prince Kasyapa will go down in history as a patriarchal king.

Kasyapa does not want to stay in Anuradhapura because Moggollana or the Mughal prince has secretly fled to India. He was afraid that his brother would come at any moment with an army and abduct the kingdom. Therefore, Kashyapa wanted to establish his kingdom in a more secure place. He finds the Sigiri rock as a result of his search results.

According to W. In 477, the newest kingdom of Ceylon, King Kasyapa, is established at Sigiriya. Historical sources say that he was a Mauryan.

#Sigiriya belongs to #Matale district. Sigiriya is located in the area called Whapanaha Palace in Inamaluwa Korala.

Sigiriya is surrounded by a beautiful mountain range. Sigiriya is surrounded by Nuwaragala and Gallinda mountain ranges in the east, Kandalama mountain range in the south, Lenadora Arangala mountain range in the north, and Ritigala mountain range in the north. This picturesque king of rocks rising up to the sky looks wonderful from a distance. It is in the form of a lying lion with its head raised.

This rock king is not just a mountain peak but a national heritage. Not only that, the Sigiri Rock King and the ruins around it are not only known as the eighth wonder of the world today, but have also been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Sigiri complex and features

Sigiriya is a unique design. Scholars say that there is actually a building complex here. The special features found in the Sigiri complex can be described as follows:

The king's #palace on top of the rock

Brick lion image                                                      

Murals depicting Lalanavan

Sigiriya Mirror Wall

These things cannot be forgotten when talking about Sigiriya. Because when you look at the techniques that have been created, it is really amazing. Local as well as foreign scholars have been amazed at how these works have been done. Not only that,

Enter #Nuwara and Malupeth

Water park

Moats and walls

Apart from this, these features can be identified as belonging to the Sigiri complex. Moats and walls were actually built as defensive measures. These moats around Sigiri rock are divided into outer moat and inner moat. But today we see only the inner moat. That's because the outer moat has filled up. And today we only see the lesson on the outer wall.

Royal Palace

The most important part of Sigiriya is the royal palace. Today, only the ruins of that huge building are visible, but it is enough to paint a picture of its grandeur.
The top of Sigiri Pavwe has a height of 360 meters above sea level. It is about 200 meters from the normal ground level. The area of Sigiri Gala top is about 3 square hectares. The royal palace and other buildings were built on this land.
In addition to this royal palace, which was built in the late 5th century AD, there are also great walls, water inlets, guard chambers, natural stone arches, etc., and flower gardens are also found here.
The main palace was located on the highest point of Parvata Mununat, it was 67 feet long and 37 feet wide as confirmed by the ruins of the palace. Apart from this, the ruins of several sprawling palaces can be seen in this complex.
The main pond here is made of stone and it is 90 feet long and 68 feet wide. Apart from this, 3 small ponds made of bricks can be seen on top of Sigiriya.
As the sunlight falls directly, the Sigiri stone heats up very quickly. Due to the intense heat caused by this, it is very difficult to stay on the surface of the stone during the afternoon. But King Kasyapa had taken steps to avoid this inconvenience and carry out the government affairs. That is by using the summer palaces that were in Sigiriya.
This palace is the diplomatic mouthIt was later discovered that it was designed to suit the needs and personal pleasure of the king. This type of palace was always on the rectangular island on the south side of the rock surface.
The main thing that catches the eye of anyone visiting Sigiriya is the amazing lion's foot at the foot of the rock. Historical sources indicate that these feet made of bricks belong to a lion. Legend has it that in the past there was a huge lion image here. Accordingly, it can be thought that this image of a lion helped Sigiriya to be called Sinhagiri in the early days. This image of a lion is seen in the style of a majestic lion at the foot of the Maha Pawa, pointing towards the sky.
But is this really a picture of a lion? There are many commentators who question this. Many of them say that this could be a bird's foot. H.C.P. Bell, who discovered Sigiriya later (in 1898), was of the opinion that this was a lion's foot.
They say that it was confirmed as the lion's foot because all the archaeologists who came after him adhered to that opinion.
The most attractive part of Sigiriya is the part with murals. These paintings are found in many caves of Sigiri rock. In fact, Sigiriya is popular because of these murals.
The main artefacts are found on the upper part of an inward protuberance on the western side of the Great Rock. This name of the Sigiri stone is known as "Koshaya". According to scholars, these paintings were spread all over the western side of the rock in the past. According to them, today we can see only a small amount left of such a vast group of paintings.
Women are mainly depicted in these paintings. Some commentators say that these could be the king's queens or courtiers. But another group of people is of the opinion that these pictures show divine songs.
When talking about Sigiri Chitra, one cannot forget the unfortunate incident that happened on October 17, 1967. A certain person sneaked up to the murals at night and painted black paint on them. His aim was to destroy forever these magnificent creations that have existed for 14 centuries. However, we are all lucky to have the Italian Luciano Maranzi undertake the removal of this black paint. It was on October 22, 1967.

GlassWall

The other factor that shows the fame of Sigiriya to the world is the mirror wall. There are graffiti on the mirrored wall. Although these are not high level poems, they are not lacking in creativity and taste. Many people who came to see Sigiriya expressed their opinions on this mirror wall. Professor Senarath Paranavithana was able to read and understand more than 700 of these cursive songs written in ancient Brahmi script.
#Architecture in Sigiriya
Wood, brick and granite are mainly used for construction work in Sigiriya. Archaeologists say that the masterpieces of the Sigiri bricklayer are the mirror wall, the lion lift, and the main palace.
And we cannot forget about water technology and management in Sigiriya. It is a mirror that displays the craftsmanship of our Hela children to the world. How did water move to the surface of Sigiriya rock? Also, what technology was used to make water flowers in the ponds? These are things that even modern scientists are amazed by.
How water was brought to the top of Sigiriya rock is also a mystery. Some say that a water pumping technology has been used for this. But nowadays the investigators are of the opinion that a much simpler method has been used for this purpose. That is the force of attraction, or the force of attraction between particles of the same type.

Secrets of Sigiriya

The mirror wall looks out. –
There are many legends and opinions about Sigiriya. Most of them are amazing. And mysterious. Did Sigiriya really belong to King Kasyapa? This is a long-standing issue. One legend gives the answer as follows.
"Sigiriya is a land belonging to King Ravana. He had planned to build his palace in Sigiriya. But Ravana faces an unexpected war as he had to abduct the goddess Sita. Because of this, King Ravana misses building the palace. Later, it is said that King Kasyapa built his palace on Sigiriya according to Ravana's plan.
Another legend tells a different story. Here's one:
"According to Ravana Vata, the artist of Sigiriya's arrangement is called "Maya Kanawa". He started building the Sigiriya on the orders of King Vistavasa (Vesamuni) who was Ravana's father. At that time, Sigiriya was known as Alakamandawa and during the reign of King Kuvera, it was called Chitranakuta. Later, after the death of Ravana, "Vibhishana" became the king and he moved his kingdom to Kelaniya and it is said that Chittaraja, a relative of Vibhishana and also a Yakkha nobleman, used it as his residence. Also, Chittaraja was the one who helped Prince Pandukabhaya (437 – 367 BC) become king. It is believed that the parents of Prince Pandukabhaya are descended from the Chittaraja dynasty.
Today we can climb to the top of Sigiriya by walking around the rock. But there is no doubt that there was a way to travel to the top of the rock more easily on the day of King Kasyapa. It is impossible to imagine that a king walks to his palace for many feet, waving sweaty sticks like us. Especially b