Wat Pho (Thai: วัดโพธิ์, IPA: [wát pʰoː]), also spelt Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร; rtgs: Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimonmangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan; IPA: [wát pʰráʔ tɕʰê:t.tù.pʰon wíʔ.mon.maŋ.kʰlaː.raːm râːt.tɕʰá.wɔː.ráʔ.má.hǎː.wíʔ.hǎːn]). The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction its older name Wat Photaram (Thai: วัดโพธาราม; rtgs: Wat Photharam).

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site, and became his main temple where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple was also the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and still houses a school of Thai medicine. It is known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

HISTORY

Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which the name Wat Pho is derived. The name refers the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The older temple is thought to have been built or expanded some time in the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703) of the Ayuthaya period on an even earlier temple site, but its founder is unknown. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the river from Wat Pho, and the proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang (royal monastery).

In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete, and 12 years after work began, in 1801, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and became the main temple for Rama I. The complex underwent significant changes in the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851 CE). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 22 acres, and most of the structures in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt in this period, including the chapel of the reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects.:90 These marble inscriptions have received recognition in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO on 21 February 2008. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand’s first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates. The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration.

THE TEMPLE COMPLEX

Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres, and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 46 m in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east–west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is the part open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha.< The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner). The temple grounds contain 91 small chedis (stupas or mounds), four great chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and other buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found within the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates within the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China. Wat Pho was intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas, namely history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustration on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens (Khao Mor) illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry. These illustrations and inscriptions in Wat Pho have been registered by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme set up to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage.

PHRA UBOSOT

Phra Ubosot (Phra Uposatha) or bot is the ordination hall, the main hall used for performing Buddhist rituals, and the most sacred building of the complex. It was constructed by King Rama I in the Ayuthaya style, and later enlarged and reconstructed in the Rattanakosin style by Rama III. The bot was dedicated in 1791, before the rebuilding of Wat Pho was completed. This building is raised on a marble platform, and the ubosot lies in the center of courtyard enclosed by a double cloister (Phra Rabiang).Inside the ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. The Buddha image, known as Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn and thought to be from the Ayutthaya period, was moved here by Rama I from Wat Sala Si Na (now called Wat Khuhasawa) in Thonburi. Rama IV later placed some ashes of Rama I under the pedestal of the Buddha image so that the public may pay homage to both Rama I and the Buddha at the same time. There are also ten images of Buddha's disciples in the hall, Moggalana on its left and Sariputta on its right, and a further eight Arahants below. The exterior balustrade surrounding the main hall has around 150 depictions in stone of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions. The stone panels were recovered from a temple in Ayuthaya. The ubosot is enclosed by a low wall called kamphaeng kaew, which is punctuated by gateways guarded by mythological lions, as well as eight structures that house the bai sema stone markers that delineate the sacred space of the bot.

- Phra Rabiang - This double cloister contains around 400 images of Buddha from northern Thailand selected out of the 1,200 originally brought by King Rama I. Of these Buddha images, 150 are located on the inner side of the double cloister, another 244 images are on the outer side. These Buddha figures, some standing and some seated, are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. These images are from different periods, such as Chiangsaen, Sukhothai, U-Thong, and Ayutthaya, but were renovated by Rama I and covered with stucco and gold leaves to make them look similar.

The viharn in the east contains an 8 metre tall standing Buddha, the Buddha Lokanatha, originally from Ayutthaya. In its antechamber is Buddha Maravichai, sitting under a bodhi tree, originally from Sawankhalok of the late Sukhothai period. The one on the west has a seated Buddha sheltered by a naga, the Buddha Chinnasri, while the Buddha on the south, the Buddha Chinnaraja, has five disciples seated in front listening to his first sermon. Both Buddhas were brought from Sukhothai by Rama I. The Buddha in the north viharn called Buddha Palilai was cast in the reign of Rama I. The viharn on the west also contains a small museum.

- Phra Prang - There are four towers, or phra prang, at each corner of the courtyard around the bot. Each of the towers is tiled with marbles and contains four Khmer-style statues which are the guardian divinities of the Four Cardinal Points.

PHRA MAHA CHEDI SI RAJAKARN

This is a group of four large stupas, each 42 metres high. These four chedis are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings. The first, in green mosaic tiles, was constructed by Rama I to house the remnants of the great Buddha from Ayuthaya, which was scorched to remove its gold covering by the Burmese. Two more were built by Rama III, one in white tiles to hold the ashes of his father Rama II, another in yellow for himself. A fourth in blue was built by Rama IV who then enclosed the four chedis leaving no space for more to be built.

VIHARN PHRANORN

The viharn or wihan contains the reclining Buddha and was constructed in the reign of Rama III emulating the Ayutthaya-style. The interior is decorated with panels of mural.

Adjacent to this building is a small raised garden (Missakawan Park) with a Chinese-style pavilion; the centrepiece of the garden is a bodhi tree which was propagated from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka that is believed to have originally came from a tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment.

PHRA MONDOB

Phra Mondob or the ho trai is the Scripture Hall containing a small library of Buddhist scriptures. The building is not generally open to the public as the scriptures which are inscribed on palm leaves need to kept in a controlled environment for preservation. The library was built by Rama III. Guarding its entrance are figures of giants called Yak Wat Pho placed in niches beside the gates. Around Phra Mondob are three pavilions with mural paintings of the beginning of Ramayana.

OTHER STRUCTURES

- Phra Chedi Rai - Outside the Phra Rabiang cloisters are dotted many smaller chedis, called Phra Chedi Rai. Seventy-one of these small chedis were built by Rama III, each five metres in height. There are also four groups of five chedis that shared a single base built by Rama I, one on each corner outside the cloister. The 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 20 slightly larger ones clustered in groups of five contain the relics of Buddha.

- Sala Karn Parien - This hall is next to the Phra Mondob at the southwest corner of the compound, and is thought to date from the Ayutthaya period. It serves as a learning and meditation hall. The building contains the original Buddha image from the bot which was moved to make way for the Buddha image currently in the bot. Next to it is a garden called The Crocodile Pond.

- Sala Rai - There are 16 satellite pavilions, most of them placed around the edge of the compound, and murals depicting the life of Buddha may be found in some of these. Two of these are the medical pavilions between Phra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakarn and the main chapel. The north medicine pavilion contains Thai traditional massage inscriptions with 32 drawings of massage positions on the walls while the one to the south has a collection of inscriptions on guardian angel that protects the newborn.

- Phra Viharn Kod - This is the gallery which consists of four viharas, one on each corner outside the Phra Rabiang.

- Tamnak Wasukri - Also called the poet's house, this is the former residence of Prince Patriarch Paramanujita Jinorasa, a Thai poet. This building is in the living quarters of the monks in the southern compound and is open once a year on his birthday.

RECLINING BUDDHA

The chapel and the reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas, Thai พระพุทธไสยาสน์) were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand. The right arm of the Buddha supports the head with tight curls, which rests on two box-pillows richly encrusted with glass mosaics. The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded.

The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories. At the center of each foot is a circle representing a chakra or energy point. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.

Although the reclining Buddha is not a pilgrimage centre, it remains an object of popular piety. An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.

THAI MASSAGE

The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures. A school for traditional medicine and massage was established at the temple in 1955, and now offers four courses in Thai medicine: Thai pharmacy, Thai medical practice, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage. This, the Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School, is the first school of Thai medicine approved by the Thai Ministry of Education, and one of the earliest massage schools. It remains the national headquarters and the center of education of traditional Thai medicine and massage to this day. Courses on Thai massage are held in Wat Pho, and these may last a few weeks to a year. Two pavilions at the eastern edge of the Wat Pho compound are used as classrooms for practising Thai traditional massage and herbal massage, and visitors can received massage treatment here for a fee.There are many medical inscriptions and illustrations placed in various buildings around the temple complex, some of which serve as instructions for Thai massage therapists, particularly those in the north medical pavilion. Among these are 60 inscribed plaques, 30 each for the front and back of human body, showing pressure points used in traditional Thai massage. These therapeutic points and energy pathways, known as sen, are engraved on the human figures, with explanations given on the walls next to the plaques. They are based on the principle of energy flow similar to that of Chinese acupuncture. The understanding so far is that the figures represent relationships between anatomical locations and effects produced by massage treatment at those locations, but full research on the diagrams has yet to be completed.

WIKIPEDIA

First conceptional approach with the topic structure close-ups.

Shot with Nikon D5100.

ISO 400

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Editing in PS Lightroom 5.

* Butterthwaite, Ecclesfield

The run of a Network Rail Test Train, operated by GBRf, around the south and west Yorks rails from Derby, 19 late at 13:22, via a handful of locales in the area and back to Derby RTC for 21:21.

GBRf, class 73 hauled, 'The Minions', 73951 'Malcolm Brinded' and at the other end, 73952, 'Janis Kong'. This is the canary yellow Infra-Structure Monitoring, Mentor Test Train, operating on the 3Q60, Derby RTC via all over S.Yorks to Derby RTC, with Coaches- 6397 GSA blue barrier coach, 96608, 6262, 999606, UTU-4, Ultra Sonic Test Unit #4 and stating on the side, 'Improving Your Railway', and finally an ex-D.B.S.O., Driving Break Second Open, 9702..

And, having had a walk around the area yet again and welcomed fellow Flickr photographer, Gavin.B, 'on-site', we stood around chatting about the days events and other rail related matters with the Test Train set now having departed the Brightside Up/Down East Slow siding line, having now settled down in the Brightside loop for the last of the pauses before coming up here. Around 20 minutes later, having watched passage of the 1 or 2 other passenger stock moves, the yellow set appeared in the distance moving slowly through the mist and in the left picture here, can be seen coming under the distant footbridge, with dog and dog-walked in attendance, both apparently taking interest in the passage of the unusual sight up on the bank. With the ISO of the camera set to 1600, the pictures are a little noisy with 73951 once more leading the way north from the Brightside loop, having run to time, so its 16:30 as it passes the old Butterthwaite bridge on Midland metals, there being nothing left of the other route save the track-bed and with the dog-walker following the action along the rack but with the dog now distracted by 'something in the grass' .. 73951 is leading the Test Train 'MENTOR' with 'Malcolm Brinded', 73952 at the rear and a set of 5 coaches including the blue barrier wagon next to the rear 73. WOnder when that cross-over was last used...

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The ancient Hindu temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop that is also known as Changu or Dolagiri. The temple was surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village, known as Changu Village. The temple is located in Changunarayan VDC of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 8 miles east of Kathmandu and a few miles north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the hill. This shrine is dedicated to Lord Visnu and held in especial reverence by the Hindu people. This temple is considered as the oldest temple in Nepal.

HISTORY OF CHANGU NARAYAN TEMPLE

The pagoda style temple has several masterpieces of 5th and 12th century Nepalese art. According to legends Changu Narayan temple existed as early as 325 A.D. in the time of King Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma and it is one of Nepal's richest structures historically as well as artistically. In the grounds there is a stone pillar inscription of great importance recording the military exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from 496 A.D. to 524 A.D. The first epigraphic evidence of Nepalese history found in the temple premises during the reign of the Licchavi King Mandeva dating back to 464 A.D. shows that Changu had already been established as a sacred site in the 3rd century A.D. It is the earliest inscription known in Nepal. The temple was restored during the lifetime of Ganga Rani, consort of Siva Simha Malla who reigned from 1585 to 1614. There are records of the temple burning in the year of 822 Nepal Samvat (1702 A.D.), after which reconstruction was carried out. More inscriptions in gilt-copper plates were added by Bhaskara Malla in 1708 A.D.

LEGEND ABOUT CHANGU NARAYAN

In ancient time a Gwala, a cow herder, had brought a cow from a Brahman named Sudarshan. The cow was known for producing large quantity of milk. The Gwala used to take the cow to Changu for grazing. At that time Changu was a forest of Champak tree. While grazing the cow it always went to the shade of a particular tree. In the evening when the Gwala took the cow home and started milking the cow he got only very few amount of milk. This continued several days. He became very sad so he called the Brahmin and told him that the cow is not giving enough milk. Brahmin after observing the fact from his own eyes then planned with the Gwala to inspect the activities of cow during the day while she was grazing in the forest. Both Brahmin and Gwala hide themselves behind the trees and spectate the activities of the cow. The cow went into the shade of a particular champak tree. To their surprise a small black boy came out from the tree and started drinking the cow milk. Both became very furious and they thought that the boy must be the devil and tree must be its home. So Brahmin cut down the champak tree. When the Brahmin was cutting down the tree a fresh human blood came out from the tree. Both Brahmin and Gwala became worried and they thought that they have committed the great crime and they started crying.From the tree lord Vishnu emerged out and he told the Brahmin that it was not their fault. Lord Vishnu told them the story that he had committed a heinous crime by killing Sudarshan’s father unknowingly while hunting in the forest. After that he was cursed for the crime. He then wandered on earth on his mouth, the ‘Garuda’ eventually descending on the hill at Changu. There he lived in anonymity, surviving on milk stolen from a cow. When Brahmin cut down the tree, lord Vishnu was beheaded which freed Lord Vishnu from his sins. After hearing these words from Vishnu, Brahmin and Gwala started worshipping the place and they established a small temple in the name of Lord Vishnu. Ever since that day, the site has been held sacred. . Even today we can find the descendant of Sudarshan Brahmin as priest of the temple and the descendents of Gwala as ghutiyars (conservators).

PHYSICAL ASPECTS

Changu Narayan Temple is situated at the top of the hill surrounded by forest of Champ tree. On the main way to temple courtyard, we can find human settlement. People from Newar community live in and around Changu Narayan area. With the development in tourism in this place, we can find many medium and small sized hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. An ancient stone tap is located on the way to Changunaran which is believed to have existed since the time of Lichhavi.

THE TEMPLE ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Changu Narayan is considered to be the oldest temple of Nepal. It remains a milestone in Nepali temple architecture with rich embossed works. The two-storey roofed temple stands on a high plinth of stone. According to Professor Madhan Rimal, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuwan University, the temple is neither in Shikhara Style nor the Pagoda style. It has an architectural style which he would like to describe as a traditional Nepali temple. Many similar features are found at Gokarna Mahadev. The temple is surrounded by sculptures and arts related to Lord Vishnu. Also we can find the temples of lord Shiva, Ashta Matrika, Chhinnamasta, Kileshwor and Krishna inside the courtyard of main temple. There are four entrances to the temple and these gates are guarded by life size pairs of animals such as lions, sarabhas, graffins and elephants on each side of the entrances. The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the other idols are carved in the struts, which support the roof. The entrance door is gilded with carvings of Nagas (snakes). On the main entrance gate (i.e. western entrance gate), we can find the Chakra, Sankha, Kamal and Khadga all at the top of a stone pillar. These stone pillars has inscription in Sanskrit. This inscription is considered to be the oldest inscription of Nepal and the stone inscription pillar was erected by Lichhavi King Manadeva in 464 AD. The following monument are located while visiting the temple from the right side after entering from the main entrance (Eastern gate) to courtyard.

Historical pillar erected by Mandeva in 464 AD

Garuda:- flying vehicle of Lord Vishnu which has got a human face and is a devotee of Vishnu.

Statue of Bhupalendra Malla, King of Kantipur and his queen BhuwanLakshmi.

Chanda Narayan (Garuda Narayan):- 7th century stone sculpture of Vishnu riding on Garuda. This sculpture has been depicted in the 10 rupee paper note issued by Nepal Rastra Bank

Sridhar Vishnu:- 9th century stone sculpture of Vishnu, Laxmi and Garuda which stands on the pedestals of various motifs.

Vaikuntha Vishnu :- 16th century sculpture of Vishnu seated on the lalitason position on the six armed Garuda and Laxmi seated on the lap of Vishnu

Chhinnamasta:- Temple dedicated to Chhinnamasta devi, who beheaded herself, offered her own blood to feed the hungry Dakini and Varnini.

Vishworup:- 7th century stone sculpture- beautifully carved that depicts the scene from the Bhagwat Gita, in which Lord Krishna manifests his universal form to his devotee Arjun.

Vishnu Vikrant :- 7th century sculpture of Trivikram Vishnu that depicts the scene of popular Hindu myth of Lord Vishnu and his beloved Bali Raja.

Narasimha :- 7th century sculpture of Narasimha , an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, killing the demon King Hiranyakasyapa to save his beloved devotee Prahalad.

Kileshwor:- small two storied temples of Lord Shiva, who is believed to have appeared in this place for the protection of the hill.

INFORMATION CENTRE

There is a information centre at the entrance to Changu Village. They issue tickets to tourist. The information center has a public toilet for tourist. Also drinking water facilities is available for tourist. But the drink water facilities have not been managed properly. Only direct tap water is available there. According to Binaya Raj Shrestha, owner of Chagu Museum and the member of temple management committee, on an average 150 foreigners visit Changu.

CHANGU MUSEUM

A private museum is also located on in the Changu Narayan on the way to temple. According to Binaya Raj Shrestha, the owner of the museum, it is the first private museum of Nepal and it has the collection of ancient coins, tools, arts and architectures. There is an excellent collection of ancient, historical, artistic, religious, archaeological, cultural and other rare objects. The museum has a good collection of ancient tools used by Newar family during the medieval period. It was established on the occasion of millennium year 2000 AD with the permission of Changu Narayan VDC. The entrance fee for Nepalese is NRs. 50 and NRs. 300 is charged for foreigner. On an average 35 visitors visit this museum in a day. Mostly foreigners and Nepali students visit this museum.

ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM

There is an ethnographic museum inside the building of the temple which incorporates both objects and photographs collected by Judith Davis. Entrance is INR. 250 for foreigners. There is also a small bookshop.

FESTIVALS AND FAIRS

Since the ancient period, many festivals and fairs have been organized on various occasions. One of the main festivals of Changu is called Changu Narayan Jatra. The festival ‘Mahashanan’ held here as an important festival. On the day of ‘Jugadi Nawami’ and ‘Haribodhini Ekadashi’ special puja is conducted in Changu. Daily puja and aarati is not conducted in temple and on the occasion of family rituals, such as birthday, marriage, etc local conduct not special puja in the temple.

MANAGEMENT APPROACHES

Changu Narayan Temple is on the list of world heritage sites. The valuable stone sculpture and ancient inscriptions have archeological, historical and cultural significance. Changu Narayan VDC is formed a committee called Changu Narayan Temple management Committee which is the responsible body to work for protection, preservation and management. Likewise the Department of Archeology and Palace Management Office, Bhaktapur has also provided assistance on the conservation and preservation of the temple. Many local youth clubs are involved in managing festivals, organizing awareness programs in and around temple area.

THREATS/CHALLENGES

The Manohara stream has long seen rampant mining of sand and stones. Local administration have failed to control the mining activities. Because of the mining activities, the temple area has become prone to landslides. Due to overgrazing in the nearby forest, the chances of soil erosion and landslide are very high.

There is a challenge regarding the security of the unique sculptures. Also the temple is getting older so renovation is necessary. The tourist information center has not been managed properly and they have not maintained good records of tourists. The museum is not issuing ticket bills after payments are made by Nepali visitors. Although Changu is only 8 miles east of Kathmandu, bus service is still lacking which means a newly constructed road to Changu has failed to bring in a significant number of tourists.

WIKIPEDIA

About 16:45, a structure fire was reported at 3629 Palmdale Blvd cross of Landon Avenue, LAC131's, with smoke showing 5 miles out. LAC Engine 131 arrived on scene to find a single story, single family dwelling well involved, with a majority of the fire to the rear of the structure. In addition to Engine 131, Engines 93, 37, 92, Quint 24, Squad 131, Patrol 92 and Battalion 17 got knockdown about 12 mintues later. No injuries and cause is unknown.

Lost in a thicket of signs and structures

This Structure is present in Qutub Complex..Look at those bells on Pillars..

What more to say?!?!

A tiered retaining wall winds between Rocky Top Drive and the Tijeras Canyon Arroyo in southeast Albuquerque.

Lyon - Passerelle de la Paix

More pics.

See how light and simple the structure is?!

That's why my boats are so light in comparison with most Northern Hemisphere designs. It is not my own method though - it comes from the Australian and NZ tradition of lightweight plywood racing dinghy construction.

Generally plywood boats in this region come out at around 10lbs/foot, whereas most from other regions come out near double that. Sometimes more.

The method is hugely strong too - our waters can be rough and our winds are much stronger on average than Europe or Nth America.

downtown Toronto

This photo was taken about 12 noon - the sun is low in the sky!

Can anyone explain the use of this strange structure at the back of the Observatories at St Andrews University?

St Peter and St Paul, Felixstowe, Suffolk

This is the church of Old Felixstowe. Until a couple of hundred years ago, this was a small church in the middle of a tiny, straggling fishing hamlet. It was an outpost of the much larger village of Walton, a couple of miles to the south. In the 1830s, Felixstowe was discovered by Ipswich's middle classes as a south-facing bathing resort. By the end of the century a massive building programme had been undertaken. Now, Felixstowe has reached out and engulfed Walton, becoming Suffolk's fourth largest town, home to not far short of 40,000 people. Walton parish church sits on the edge of Felixstowe's modern town centre, but the church that is Felixstowe's in name sits far out in the north-eastern suburbs, so that you would be most surprised to see its modern setting if you had travelled in time from then to now. Not far from here, and just across the parish boundary in Walton, stood the now submerged Roman fortification of Walton Castle. It was here in 631 that St Felix came ashore after travelling from Burgundy at the invitation of the King Sigebert and the East Anglian royal family, and established his see of Dumnoc. You can still see remains of the castle off of Old Felixstowe at very low tides - or, at least, it is easy to imagine that you can.

A medieval time traveller would be even more surprised to see that this church has been almost completely rebuilt since its Catholic days, in a grand and fascinating manner. The transformation was carried out by Edwards and Roberts of Dundee in 1872. The lower part of the tower survives, the oldest structure in the parish by hundreds of years. The upper part, in common with many in this part of Suffolk, succumbed to the coastal weather in the late 18th century, and is a capped twin to that at Bawdsey, two miles or so across the Deben estuary. The ruinous building was patched up in an economical fashion, including the construction of the rather curious red brick chancel shown in mid-19th Century photographs. It is an odd date to Build a chancel. Perhaps it was used as a school room.

So it was then, in the 1870s, that a substantial rebuilding took place. The chancel was taken down, and transepts and a new chancel added, more than doubling the length of the church. Much was retained in the superstructure of the nave, but the roof was renewed, as were all the windows. The crossing is very high, much higher than the nave, and outside on its gable sits a fine sanctus bell turret. I found this intriguing, since it appears to be medieval at heart (despite now incorporating a chimney) but as you can see the photograph of the church before its restoration does not show it. I wonder where it came from.

The parish war memorial is one of those grand ones designed by Henry Munro Cautley for about half a dozen churches in the Ipswich area. Even so, it doesn't feature as many names as you might expect for a port of this size. This is because by the end of the 19th Century most Felixstowe people were living in the new parish of St John the Baptist, carved out of this parish in the 1890s and served by Arthur Blomfield's magnificent red brick twilight of St John's. By the time of the Second World War, St Peter and St Paul parish was even smaller, the town centre end of the parish forming the new parish of St Andrew, served by Mason and Erith's remarkable concrete church of St Andrew.

There is a George V Royal arms in glass by FC Eden in the north transept. The windows up in the apse-like sanctuary are jewel-like in this setting, but unfortunately no record survives of which workshop made them. They have something of Powell & Son about them. They show a combination of the East Anglian Saints Felix and Edmund, as well as that Saint associated with the sea that are so familiar in this part of Suffolk, St Nicholas. Anna stands beside St Luke with his story about her at the presentation in the temple. The church patrons St Peter and St Paul and King Sigebert of East Anglia complete the set. Below Felix is Norwich Cathedral, and under Edmund is Bury Abbey, neither place ever visited by them - or, at least, not while alive. More surreally, St Luke is paired with Kings College, Cambridge, and Anna with Hadleigh Deanery and church. Presumably these are places of significance to the Cobbold family who gave the glass.

Either side of the chancel arch are two high quality memorials in shimmering alabaster to two brothers, Henry Arthur and John Hudspith Turner. In the early years of the 20th Century they were canons of Aklavik Cathedral, which sounds terribly grand. In fact, this was a tiny mission church beside Hudson Bay, 150 miles within the arctic circle, in Canada's North Western Territories. The little town is accessible by boat only in the summer months and across the ice at other times. Even today, Aklavik has only 600 people living in it. The mission was founded in 1916, and the church was built out of log panels in 1919. The Turners arrived soon after. Henry's memorial records that facing difficulties with cheerful courage he laboured with the Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society among the Eskimo of Baffin Island for 25 years where he was also Engineer, Builder, Schoolmaster and Translator of the Scriptures. On John's memorial it notes that he worked in the service of his Master for 18 years in Baffin Island, making long journeys from thence over frozen seas to Eskimo camps and translating the Scriptures into the native tongue. The church they knew burned down in 1972, and its replacement, also of log panels, remains the most northerly cathedral in the world.

a6000 + Wollensak Cine Velostigmat 1''/1.5 C

NORTHRIDGE - 40 firefighters found the garage (attached) of a single-family home fully involved and extinguished the fire in 13 minutes. Initial reports of a person trapped in the fire room proved to be false after a thorough search. The fire was stopped quickly before extending into the home. No reported injuries.

© Photo by Jacob Salzman

LAFD Incident: 060419-1230

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A view of the Union Switch & Signal Model S-8 electro-mechanical interlocking machine, showing both the mechanical levers (large levers extending to the floor) and electrical levers mounted above the frame.

Ornamental structure at a motel in Springfield, Ohio.

Mass Turnpike, Prudential Center & Hancock Building from Kenmore Square, Boston

The Tillamook Structure moves light rail track from one side of the freight tracks to the other, keeping both modes of transportation out of each other’s way.

Rule of thirds

Bei einer Kunsthandwerkerin in Schloss Burg bei Solingen konnte ich diese wunderbare selbst gefärbte und selbst gesponnene Wolle fotografieren.

At 6:12PM on September 19, 2019 the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire in the 3900 block of W 1st St in Koreatown. Firefighters arrived to find a detached garage fully engulfed in flames. 40 firefighters took 23 minutes to fully extinguish the fire. A nearby utility pole was exposed to flames, but all adjacent properties were protected from the blaze. There were no reported injuries.

Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | Chris Conkle

LAFD Incident: 091919-1301

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Musee National de l'automobile Mulhouse

Taos Pueblo consists of two structures: a north house (Hlauuma in Tiwa) and a south house (Hlaukwima in Tiwa). They are separated by the Pueblo de Taos Rio.

It is thought they were constructed between 1000 and 1450 A.D. They are considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the USA.

This is the north house or Hlauuma. Note the blue trim around the door and windows. It prevents any evil presence from entering the home.

"1980's southwest" "1981 southwest" "American southwest" "1980's American southwest" "1981 American southwest" "1980's American southwest vacation" "1981 American southwest vacation" "southwest USA" "1980's southwest USA" "1981 southwest USA" "southwest USA vacation" "1980's southwest USA vacation" "1981 southwest USA vacation" "New Mexico" "northern New Mexico" "1980's New Mexico" "1981 New Mexico" "1980's northern New Mexico"

"1981 northern New Mexico" "1980's New Mexico vacation" "1981 New Mexico vacation" "1980's northern New Mexico vacation" "1981 northern New Mexico vacation" "Taos Pueblo" "1980's Taos Pueblo" "1981 Taos Pueblo"

A new and old architecture as seen in downtown Phoenix.

created with prompts using recraftai

Sand, silt, clay and organic matter bind together to provide stucture to the soil. The individual units of structure are called peds.

Structure Synth / Sunflow

The clock images are experiments for a Timestretch.com logo for my blog. I posted an article on Structure Synth to kick things off.

www.timestretch.com/article/structure_synth_tutorial

Stinging Eyes sent me a message about my previous clock image, and mentioned some banding he'd observed. I'd noticed this too, and decided to find a good solution. The image above was rendered using the hdr export format, which exports each pixel in 32 bits per channel. The image files it outputs are huge, but by using Photoshop to dither and convert them back down to standard 8 bits per channel, some banding in the grayscale ramps can be reduced. I can still see some banding in the image above, but I assure you, the PNG file exported directly form Photoshop shows a big improvement!

SPNC - Year 3 - Instruction #24 - "Turn you camera and take a vertical shot." - Danielle Houghton

www.stangrecka.com/

Samsung NX300

Ice structure on a branch / Eisstruktur auf einem Zweig

IMG_3782ax2

Crystal structure of GFP (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore.do?structureId=2HGD). Rendered in PyMol.

This Structure chair's organic shape shell is made in a low-density integral polyurethane solid-colored foam material. The smooth surface of the chair's inner shell conforms to the body to allow seating comfort.

The Structure chair was part of the "Polish Red Dots" exhibition, which showcased award-winning Polish Red Dot designs. The exhibition, at WIPO's Geneva headquarters from May 27 to 31, 2013 was organized jointly by WIPO and the Government of Poland.

Design: Przemyslaw "Mac" Stopa.

Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License..

Face-on spiral galaxy, NGC 2835, is split diagonally in this image: The James Webb Space Telescope’s observations appear at top left, and the Hubble Space Telescope’s on bottom right. Webb and Hubble’s images show a striking contrast, an inverse of darkness and light. Why? Webb’s observations combine near- and mid-infrared light and Hubble’s showcase visible and ultraviolet light. Dust absorbs ultraviolet and visible light, and then re-emits it in the infrared. In Webb's images, we see dust glowing in infrared light. In Hubble’s images, dark regions are where starlight is absorbed by dust.

In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse.

In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark brown lanes, following the same spiral shapes. Its images are about the same resolution as Webb’s, but the gas and dust obscure a lot of the smaller-scale star formation.

More information: webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2024/105/01HMA4HH...

Read the feature: science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-depicts-stagger...

Full set of images: webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-1...

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team

Image description: Two observations of the galaxy NGC 2835 are split diagonally, with Webb’s observations at top left and Hubble’s at bottom right. The galaxy’s core is centered and the galaxy’s arms appear to rotate counterclockwise. The spiral arms appear muddled, but it is possible to pick out individual spiral arms. In Webb’s image, the spiral arms are composed of many filaments in shades of orange, with prominent dark gray or black “bubbles,” and the core is bright blue. In Hubble’s image, the spiral arms are a mix of bright blue star clusters and dark brown dust lanes, and the core is a pale yellow.