Anuradhapura is a good place to start with the Sri Lanka photographs from October. The place did not evoke any memories after my thirty-nine year absence. I am sure that it has not changed much in that time despite some renovation work shown in a few of these photographs. I expect that a time traveler from two-thousand years ago would easily recognize it as the same place as when it was Sri Lanka’s capital. Anuradhapura was founded in the fifth century BCE but the area may have been inhabited up to five centuries before that.

The image just below is that of probably the most frequently photographed stupa in the complex, a few hundred meters away from a Bodhi tree which was propagated from the one in Bodh Gaya under which Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment.

Most of these photos require no explanation.

The admonition regarding photography and Buddha statues is intended to keep people from having their photograph taken standing in front of the statue. That would place the Buddha at their back and imply disrespect. Photographs of the statue or image itself, as shown here, are perfectly acceptable.

Preparation for renovation. Stones are labeled before removal.

Some of the repair and renovation requires the same techniques used in construction over two-thousand years ago.

The repairs remind us of the impermanence of all things of this world.