Glimpses of the Fisher-Folk

From the central hills in Sri Lanka, we headed down to one of the coastal areas. We caught a glimpse of some fishermen at work as we travelled from Bentota to Galle.

Fishermen with boat and net

Fishermen

Interesting fishing basket by the shore – again, on the way to Galle.

Fishing Basket

Fishing Basket

Here, a team of fishermen are pulling their net in to shore.

Pulling in the nets

Pulling in the Catch

The final image is of a boat drawn up on the shore at Bentota Beach.

Boat at Bentota Beach

I was a little disappointed not to have visited an area where stilt fishermen work – that will have to wait for another time 🙂

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument – Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

A contribution to Monument, which is the WordPress Daily Post Photo Challenge this week.

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, has fascinated me since the first postage stamp was issued by Sri Lanka with the famous Sigiriya Frescoes.

Sigiriya Rock is the hardened magma plug left behind by an eroded, ancient volcano. But it is more than that. It is the site of an ancient fortress which was surrounded by landscaped gardens. The remnants of both the fortress and gardens can be seen, and the site is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

1 Sigiriya Rock

2 Sigiriya Gardens-wm

3 Ancient Steps-wm

The landscaped gardens are cool and almost magical in the morning light. Awe-inspiring to think that the steps we climb and the walls around us are, according to tradition, over 1600 years old.

4 Sigiriya Maidens 1-wm

5 Sigiriya Maidens 2-wm

Part-way up the steep face of the rock, in a protected area where one finally encounters the Sigiriya Frescoes or Maidens. Scholars are not in total agreement over who or what the Frescoes represent. Only 19 maidens survive the original set of 500. Painted in the style known as “fresco lustro” and carefully restored, the colours are vibrant, surviving the ages and even a vandal attack in the last century.

6 Lion Staircase-wm

Further up the rock is what was originally the impressive formal entrance to the fortress – Lion Entrance. The huge forepaws and steps remain.

7 At the top-wm

Finally a little bit of the view from the top. Sigiriya definitely does not disappoint.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/202

http://seelanka.net/sigiriya/sigiriya-rock-formation.html