Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/01/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Three from the state of Gujarat in Western India. The first is photo of the great temple of Somnath, the moon god, besides the Arabian Sea in western India. The temple is historically and religiously very significant - it was sacked and destroyed six times between 725AD and 1701AD by Muslim invaders and rulers, and rebuilt six times. The present temple was built after independence in 1947 and is called the Seventh Temple. The security is considerable - because of its history, it is a prime target for Islamic terrorists, who would love to blow it up again: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/_1060359-Edit.jpg.html To emphasise the mix that is India, 70 km away from Somnath is Junagadh, which was, prior to independence an Islamic state. It has a very interesting but rather poorly maintained fort - here is a tourist couple relaxing there: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/_1060489-Edit.jpg.html The last photo is of a Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat built in 1026. It was sacked by Allaudin Khilji in 1296 - he was also responsible for the third destruction of Somnath. Luckily for us, he did not destroy the temple completely. Since Hindus will not worship a defaced idol, he just broke a limb from every depiction of a God in the friezes and sculptures adorning the temple, thus making it unfit for worship. The temple has the most beautiful sculptures possible, though like all Sun Temples, a few of them depict graphic sex which had a deep religious significance, lesbians and group sex included! It is not a large complex, but it is like a small jewel. It is built so that the first rays of sunlight on the May and September equinoxes illuminate the (missing) deity in the inner sanctum: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/_1060726-Edit.jpg.html C&C, as always, welcome Cheers Jayanand