Monument sights in Asia
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Gateway of India
The bold basalt Gateway of India arch faces out to Mumbai Harbour at the tip of Apollo Bunder. Derived from the Islamic styles of 16th-century Gujarat, it was built to commemorate the 1911 royal visit of King George V. It was completed in 1924: ironically, the gateway's British architects used it just 24 years later to parade off their last British regiment, as India marched towards independence.
These days, the gateway is a favourite gathering spot for locals and a top spot for people-watching. Giant-balloon sellers, photographers, beggars and touts rub shoulders with Indian and foreign tourists, creating all the hubbub of a bazaar. Boats depart from the gateway's wharfs…
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Pakistan Monument
Shakarparian is also the site of the impressive reddish-brown granite Pakistan Monument, conceived to represent Pakistan's diverse culture and national unity. Flanked by well-tended gardens and shaped like an unfurling flower, the four main 'petals' represent the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), with the three smaller 'petals' depicting other regions, including Kashmir.
A museum showcases post-independence memorabilia.
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Sūkyō Mahikari Main World Shrine
Dominating Takayama's western skyline is the golden roof of the Main World Shrine of Sūkyō Mahikari, a new religion whose teachings are said to include healing via training courses and amulets that transmit divine light rays. Guided tours are available (call in advance for an English-speaking guide).
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Erdene Zuu Khiid
Founded in 1586 by Altai Khaan, Erdene Zuu (Hundred Treasures) was the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. It had between 60 and 100 temples, about 300 gers inside the walls and, at its peak, up to 1000 monks in residence.
The monastery went through periods of neglect and prosperity until finally the Stalinist purges of 1937 put it completely out of business. All but three of the temples in Erdene Zuu were destroyed and an unknown number of monks were either killed or shipped off to Siberia and never heard from again.
However, a surprising number of statues, tsam masks and thangkas were saved from the monastery at the time of the purges - possibly with the help of a fe…
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Sri Maha Bodhi
The Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred bodhi tree, is central to Anuradhapura in both a spiritual and physical sense. The huge tree has grown from a cutting brought from Bodhgaya in India by the Princess Sangamitta, sister of Mahinda (who introduced the Buddha's teachings to Sri Lanka), so it has a connection to the very basis of the Sinhalese religion.
This sacred tree serves as a reminder of the force that inspired the creation of all the great buildings at Anuradhapura, and is within walking distance of many of the most interesting monuments. The whole area around the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Brazen Palace and Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba was once probably part of the Maha Vihara (Great Te…
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Gunung Kawi
In the bottom of this lush green valley is one of Bali's oldest and largest ancient monuments. Gunung Kawi consists of 10 rock-cut candi (shrines): memorials cut out of the rock face in imitation of actual statues. They stand in 7m/23ft-high sheltered niches cut into the sheer cliff face.
A solitary candi (memorial) stands about a kilometre further down the valley to the south; this is reached by a trek through the rice paddies on the western side of the river.
Each candi is believed to be a memorial to a member of the 11th-century Balinese royalty, but little is known for certain. Legends relate that the whole group of memorials was carved out of the rock face in one har…
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Buddhas
Along the western side of the cloister is a pile of Buddhas that were damaged during the 1828 Siamese-Lao war. And in the sǐm (ordination hall) a slightly damaged Khmer-style Naga Buddha - which depicts the Buddha seated on a coiled cobra deity (naga), sheltered by the naga's multiheaded hood - is also on display just in front of the main seated Buddha; it is believed to date from the 13th century and was brought from a nearby Khmer site.
The sǐm is surrounded by a colonnaded terrace in the Bangkok style and topped by a five-tiered roof. The interior walls bear hundreds of Buddha niches similar to those in the cloister, as well as beautiful - but decaying - Jataka mural…
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Borobudur
Looming out of a patchwork of bottle-green paddies and swaying palm tops, this colossal Buddhist relic is one of southeast Asia's marvels. It has survived Gunung Merapi's ash flows, terrorist bombs and the wear and tear of a million pairs of tourist flipflops to remain as enigmatic and beautiful as it must have been 1200 years ago.
Borobudur is built from two million block stones in the form of a massive symmetrical stupa, literally wrapped around a small hill. It stands solidly on its 118m x 118m (387ft x 387ft) base. Six square terraces are topped by three circular ones, with four stairways leading up through finely carved gateways to the top. The paintwork is long gone…
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Children's Peace Monument
Just north of the road crossing through the Peace Memorial Park is, for many, the most poignant memorial in the park - the Children's Peace Monument, inspired by leukaemia victim Sadako Sasaki. When Sadako developed leukaemia at 10 years of age she decided to fold 1000 paper cranes - an ancient Japanese custom through which it is believed that a person's wishes will come true.
The crane is the symbol of longevity and happiness in Japan and she was convinced that if she could achieve that target she would recover. She died before reaching her goal, but her classmates folded the rest. The story inspired a nationwide bout of paper-crane folding, which continues to this day.
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Cellular Jail National Memorial
A former British prison that is now a shrine to the political dissidents it once jailed, Cellular Jail National Memorial is worth visiting to understand the important space the Andamans occupy in India’s national memory. Built over a period of 18 years in 1890, the original seven wings contained 698 cells radiating from a central tower. Like many political prisons, Cellular Jail became something of a university for freedom fighters, who exchanged books, ideas and debates despite walls and wardens.
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Friendship Monument
The communist Friendship Monument is worth a quick look. On the way from the town centre you pass a fine Marx mural and a picture of Lenin bolted to the wall. A little further to the east, the ovoo (a shamanistic collection of stones, wood or other offerings) is impressive if you haven't seen too many before. The hills north of the monument and south of the stadium are great for short hikes.
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Buddha Niches
The empty niches of the Buddha statues dominate the Bamiyan valley. Carved in the 6th century, the two statues, standing 38m and 55m respectively, were the tallest standing statues of Buddha ever made. Now gone, the emptiness of the spaces the statues have left behind nevertheless inspire awe and quiet contemplation in equal measure. The bases of the niches are fenced off and although it is quite possible to view them for free from some distance, a ticket from the office of the Director of Information and Culture (In front of Large Buddha niche) allows further access to the site.
Next to the director's office is a large shed containing the salvaged remains of the Large Bu…
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Yasukuni-Jinja (Yasukuni Shrine)
If you’ve kept up with international headlines, you might recall several news stories about citizens of China, Korea and other Asian nations taking to the streets when Japanese politicians (such as former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi) visited Yasukuni-jinja. Literally ‘For the Peace of the Country Shrine’, Yasukuni is the memorial shrine to Japan’s war dead, around 2.5 million souls who died in combat. However, although the conservative right wing in Japan stands by its patriotic duty to honour its war dead, the complete story is just a little more controversial (to say the least). To put things in perspective, it’s important to fully understand the history of Yasukun…
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Jongmyo & Changgyeonggung
Surrounded by dense woodland, the impressive buildings of World Heritage Jongmyo (www.cha.go.kr) house the spirit tablets of the Joseon kings and queens and some of their most loyal government officials. Their spirits are believed to reside in a special hole bored into the wooden tablets.
Near the entrance are two ponds, both square (representing the earth) with a round island (representing the heavens). The shrines are where earth meets the heavens, where the royal spirits come and go. The triple paths were originally built for the king, the crown prince and the spirits.
On the right are buildings which were used to store ritual vessels and incense. They now contain an e…
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Tōshō-gū
A huge stone torii is a fittingly grand entrance to this storied Shintō shrine. To the left is a five-storey pagoda (34.3m) dating from 1650 and reconstructed in 1818. The pagoda has no foundations but contains a long suspended pole that swings like a pendulum, maintaining equilibrium in the event of an earthquake.
The entrance to the main shrine is through the torii at the gate, Omote-mon, protected on either side by Deva kings. Just inside are the Sanjinko (Three Sacred Storehouses). On the upper storey of the last storehouse are imaginative relief carvings of elephants by an artist who famously had never seen the real thing. To the left of the entrance is Shinyōsha (S…
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Registan
This ensemble of majestic, tilting medressas - a near-overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast, well-proportioned spaces - is the centrepiece of the city, and one of the most awesome single sights in Central Asia. The Registan, which translates to 'Sandy Place' in Tajik, was medieval Samarkand's commercial centre and the plaza was probably a wall-to-wall bazaar.
The three grand edifices here are among the world's oldest preserved medressas, anything older having been destroyed by Jenghiz Khan. They have taken their knocks over the years courtesy of the frequent earthquakes that buffet the region; that they are still standing is a testament to the incredible craftsmans…
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Uprising Memorial
The Uprising Memorial, is a memorial to those who rose against the Maharaja in 1947. It includes the graves of the local heroes, Mohammed Babar Khan and Safiullah Beg of the Gilgit Scouts, and Mirza Hassan Khan of the Kashmir Infantry.
At Partition, many had anticipated Maharaja Hari Singh's eventual accession to India. A clique of Muslim officers in the Maharaja's own army, led by Colonel Mirza Hassan Khan, had been conspiring to seize Kashmir for Pakistan, but word had got out and Hassan was transferred to Kashmir's 'Siberia', the Bunji garrison south of Gilgit.
Meanwhile, the Gilgit Scouts' Major Mohammed Babar Khan and several fellow officers (and, according to some, t…
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Borobudur Temple
Java's Borobudur is one of the continent's marvels, surviving damage from volcanoes, terrorist bombs and hordes of tourists. Built from two million stone blocks in the form of a massive symmetrical stupa literally wrapped around a small hill, this colossal Buddhist relic remains as enigmatic and beautiful as it must have been 1200 years ago.
The paintwork is long gone, but it's thought that the grey stone of Borobudur was at one time washed with a colour to catch the sun.
Viewed from the air, the structure resembles a colossal three-dimensional tantric mandala. It has been suggested, in fact, that the people of the Buddhist community that once supported Borobudur were ear…
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Gal Vihara
Gal Vihara is a group of beautiful Buddha images that probably marks the high point of Sinhalese rock carving. They are part of Parakramabahu's northern monastery. The Gal Vihara consists of four separate images, all cut from one long slab of granite. At one time each was enshrined within a separate enclosure. You can clearly see the sockets cut into the rock behind the standing image, into which wooden beams would have been inserted.
The standing Buddha is 7m tall and is said to be the finest of the series. The unusual position of the arms and sorrowful facial expression led to the theory that it was an image of the Buddha's disciple Ananda, grieving for his master's dep…
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Mansudae Grand Monument
The first stop on every visitor's trip will be to this larger-than-life bronze statue of the Great Leader. You can't help but blanch at Kim Il Sung's shamelessness - this is no memorial, but rather was unveiled in 1972 to celebrate Kim's 60th birthday. It was originally covered in gold leaf, but apparently at the objection of the Chinese, who were effectively funding the North Korean economy, this was later removed in favour of the scrubbed bronze on display today.
As the epicentre of the Kim cult, visitors need to be aware of the seriousness with which North Koreans - officially at least - consider this monument and the respect they believe foreigners should accord it. E…
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Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal
In the north of the city, off Airport Rd, is the Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, a 14th-century Sufi saint. The shrine is one of the biggest pilgrimage sites in the country and a fascinating place to visit. Being buried near the saint is considered a great honour. Shah Jalal's sword and robes are preserved within the large new mosque, but aren't on display. The tomb is covered with rich brocade, and at night the space around it is illuminated with candles - the atmosphere is quite magical.
It's never entirely clear whether non-Muslims can visit the shrine, though it seems to be OK if you are suitably solemn and well dressed. Women, however, are definitely not allowed up to t…
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Ratnaprasada
Follow the loop road above Vata Mandana Rd and you will find the finest guardstones in Anuradhapura. Dating from the 8th century, they depict a cobra king, and demonstrate the final refinement of guardstone design. You can see examples of much earlier guardstone design at the Mirisavatiya Dagoba.
In the 8th century a new order of tapovana (ascetic) monks settled in these western fringes of the city, among the lowest castes, the rubbish dumps and the burial places. These western monasteries were simple but grand structures of stone. Ornamentation was saved for toilets and urinals, now displayed at the Archaeology Museum. The monks of Ratnaprasada (Gem Palace) monastery gav…
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Shah-i-Zinda
Its shiny restoration in 2005 has been called an abomination by some, but the Shah-i-Zinda remains Samarkand's most moving sight. The name, which means 'Tomb of the Living King', refers to its original, innermost and holiest shrine - a complex of cool, quiet rooms around what is probably the grave of Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed who is said to have brought Islam to this area in the 7th century.
A shrine to Qusam existed here on the edge of Afrosiab long before the Mongols ransacked it in the 13th century. Shah-i-Zinda began to assume its current form in the 14th century as Timur and later Ulugbek buried their family and favourites near the Living King…
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Chaukhtatgyi Paya
Fifty years ago there was a giant standing buddha poking his head above the temples and monasteries here, but one day he got tired and collapsed into a heap on the floor, whereupon he was replaced with the monster-sized lazy reclining buddha you see today. One of Myanmar’s more beautiful reclining buddhas, the placid face of the Chaukhtatgyi Buddha is topped by a crown encrusted in diamonds and other precious stones. Housed in a large metal-roofed shed, only a short distance northeast of the Shwedagon Paya, this huge figure is surprisingly little known and hardly publicised at all. Close to the buddha’s feet is the small shrine to Ma Thay, a holy man who has the power to …
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Islom-Hoja Medressa
From the East Gate, where the slave market was held, go back to the Abdulla Khan Medressa and take the lane to the south beside it to the Islom-Hoja Medressa and minaret - Khiva's newest Islamic monuments, both built in 1910. The minaret, with bands of turquoise and red tiling, looks rather like an uncommonly lovely lighthouse. At 57m tall, it's Uzbekistan's highest.
A host of vendors, street cleaners or random scallywags will try to collect money from you for the privilege of climbing the 118 steps to the top; you'll probably end up paying one of them sum500 to sum1000.
The medressa holds Khiva's best museum, exhibiting Khorezm handicrafts through the ages - fine woodcarv…
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