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I
have always been fascinated by the artistry and architecture of these
temples. Every carving, every statue and every facade has a meaning or a
spiritual story behind them.
In
the inumerable times I've been to Bali, I've never taken photographs of
these temples. I thought they'd make a fascinating (to some, boring to
others...lol) contribution to Art Sunday. I wish I could relate the
stories of each temple on each photograph but I cant, sorry.
This first one is the entrance gate to the temple of the Water Gods.
Within
the grounds of the temple enclosure there are many buildings that
symbolize the different stories and the different Gods associated with
that particular structure.
The statue right at the top of this one is made of real gold.
The
Balinese also practice "anime" in conjunction with the Hindu religion.
Anime is the belief that all things in nature, like trees and
rocks...have a spiritual power and must be respected (or something like
that)
The
next two photos is of a house on top of a hill overlooking the temple
grounds. It is a modern day house belonging to an ex-president of
Indonesia...President Sukarno (I think he's deceased) and right up until
the Bali bombings tourists were actually allowed to walk up to the
house and look around. Now it's all locked up and remains vacant but it
still belongs to the Sukarno family.
How would you like to be the one who mows the lawn at this place???
The
next two photographs are of the pools called the fountain of youth
where-in people who bathe under these springs of water from the statues
gain a much longer and healthier life. Those with illnesses get better,
and the guide also said that those with unfortunately unpleasant faces
become beautiful...lol.
That
is always enticing to the tourists because they have to give a donation
to be able to hop into the pool (hoping to come out looking
beautiful...lol)
This
guy here is my driver - turned temple guide. He was very knowledgeable
about each temple but you dont really know for sure whether he was
making it up as he went or he really knew what he was talking about.
Whatever the case, he knew how to make his stories very fascinating.
Check out the grin on this guy!!
The
next three photos is a very fascinating pool of water because it had a
spring bubbling up right in the center of the pool. I tried to capture
an image of it but the reflection of the sky was too bright and you cant
see it very well.
You
might be able to see a little of it in the photo below, it's that
blackish stuff right in the center which is the muddy silt being churned
up by the underground spring.
this one is one of my favorite statues, loved the detail and the expression on it's face.
The jungle at the edge of the temple enclosure being held back by a wall.
Ceremonial platforms for offerings during various ceremonies that are held quite regularly.
Close-up of the intricate work, quite beautiful and used lots of gold leaf.
Some of the statues are up to 1000 years old and the deterioration is showing.
This is one is one of the oldest and was underneath a lot of vegetation that grew over and around it.
Being
a temple dedicated to the Gods of water, there were a lot of ponds,
pools and lakes everywhere. Most had gigantic koi fish in them and also
lots of coins people throw in while making a wish.
It was a very spiritual place and you can almost feel it as you walk around.
