Monday, July 15, 2013

Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka with Rankot Vihara (a Stupa)

Island of Sri Lanka
Photograph by Juergen Schreiber

Polonnaruwa

postmarked in 2013 with a Sri Lanka Christmas stamp 

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Polonnaruwa is a town in the North Central Province, Sri Lanka.

The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I in 1070.

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A stupa (literally meaning "heap") is a mound-like or semi-hemispherical structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the ashes of Buddhist monks and used by Buddhists as a place of meditation.

Shown in the postcard above is the stupa: Rankot Vihara 

Sri Lanka stamp 2012
Christmas 25.00

featuring a mother and her two children in a rickshaw 
up in the corner is the Nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus

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