Two hours away from Kathmandu is the ancient city of Bhaktapur. It used to be the capital city of one of the three kingdoms in Kathmandu Valley: Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu. Comfortably reached by bus it is a nice day trip to escape the hassle of tiger balm sellers, drug dealers and people trying to get you on the next guided (= expensive) 15 days trek to Everest Base Camp. While many of the old temples and houses in Bhaktapur got destroyed during earthquakes in the last centuries, much has been restaurated, making the place a feast for eyes and soul with its quiet, narrow lanes, weather worn statues and tiny shrines to be discovered as you roam around the city.
Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the old city's center. Not just a place for tourists, many locals hang out here - or do some acrobatics as this boy.
The main temple in town, apparently the largest in Nepal. The statues on the left and right are its guardians: warriors, elephants, griffin-like creatures and some multi-armed gods on the top. By coincidence I met a fellow student from my economics course there... Another friend told me that the "typical" Chinese pagodas actually originated in Nepal and were brought to China by traders via Tibet. Sounds strange at first, but makes perfect sense once one realises that the border to China/Tibet is just about 100 km away from the valley. I wonder how living in these places was like when there was still long-distance trade along the silk route, bringing together goods and cultures of the Middle East, South Asia and China.
While temples and their guardians are important parts of religious practice they seem to fulfill very common purposes, too. Here someone used them to try their clothes.
A boy flying his kite as a storm is closing in. Such motives can be found all around the town, temples next to houses, kids playing next to people offering prayers.
A side street in Bhaktapur, beautifully calm and quiet!
I can't make out whether this man was a beggar, selling just tiny quantities of rice or just chilling there - but I like his dress!
Same with this woman.
An elaborately decorated tap next to a temple. This motive of different animals eating each other is very common in South Asia, but this is an extraordinarily nice one, I find. Note the crocodile (or squirrel?) riding the elephant.
One of the many roadside shrines, in this case depicting Shiva (the woman I guess is his wife Parvati).
If you thought houses are beautifully decorated in
Varanasi go to Bhaktapur!
Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the old city's center. Not just a place for tourists, many locals hang out here - or do some acrobatics as this boy.
The main temple in town, apparently the largest in Nepal. The statues on the left and right are its guardians: warriors, elephants, griffin-like creatures and some multi-armed gods on the top. By coincidence I met a fellow student from my economics course there... Another friend told me that the "typical" Chinese pagodas actually originated in Nepal and were brought to China by traders via Tibet. Sounds strange at first, but makes perfect sense once one realises that the border to China/Tibet is just about 100 km away from the valley. I wonder how living in these places was like when there was still long-distance trade along the silk route, bringing together goods and cultures of the Middle East, South Asia and China.
While temples and their guardians are important parts of religious practice they seem to fulfill very common purposes, too. Here someone used them to try their clothes.
A boy flying his kite as a storm is closing in. Such motives can be found all around the town, temples next to houses, kids playing next to people offering prayers.
A side street in Bhaktapur, beautifully calm and quiet!
I can't make out whether this man was a beggar, selling just tiny quantities of rice or just chilling there - but I like his dress!
Same with this woman.
An elaborately decorated tap next to a temple. This motive of different animals eating each other is very common in South Asia, but this is an extraordinarily nice one, I find. Note the crocodile (or squirrel?) riding the elephant.
One of the many roadside shrines, in this case depicting Shiva (the woman I guess is his wife Parvati).
If you thought houses are beautifully decorated in Varanasi go to Bhaktapur!
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