VISHNU, ANCIENT HINDU GOD AND BUDDHA LATER

I start my series about Angkor Wat presenting you Vishnu, an ancient hindu God.

Angkor Wat was constructed in XII century as a temple dedicated to Vishnu.

Let´s start the tour with Vishnu, this is the most interesting and original God in the temple.

Let’s hope he brings us luck.

Vishnu, God of Protection, Preservation of Good, Dharma restoration. I think this hindu god is lovable. Old God of old Khmer people.

Later on, khmer civilization abandoned Vishnu to honor Buddha, and Angkor Wat became a budhist temple.

Buddha is better showed in Myanmar and Bangkok´s temples.

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If you want read more about Angkor Wat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
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A WORLD HERITAGE TEMPLE

Famous and world-wide known Vishnu Temple of Angkor Wat.

APSARAS AND DANCERS

Female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu culture. In Angkor Wat Temple, you can see them all around as much as the dancers. In fact, we cannot distinguish well if Apsaras are also the dancers or if the dancers are other character…

These girls compound the beauty of this super temple by appearing in hundreds or thousands of sculptures.

ENTRANCES AND SECONDARY TEMPLES IN ANGKOR WAT – CAMBODIA

Fine architecture on entries of Angkor Wat Temple. Note the big snakes, protectors of the entrances.

EXTERIORS AND SURROUNDINGS TEMPLES

CORRIDORS AND PASSAGES

Succession of portals forming a crazy perpective in the endless corridors of Angkor Wat.

FINEST ART AT ANGKOR WAT

Introducing the famous khmer old architecture: Angkor Wat! Cambodia the fine art temple from XII centurie.

TOWERS

Grandiosity of famous Angkor Wat Towers at Cambodia, the largest religious temple in the world.

CENTRAL PATIO

Central courtyard at Angkor Wat reveals well the architectural refinement of the ancient Khmer civilization in present-day Cambodia.

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Nowadayr Umm Qais in Jordan used to be called Gadara, founded about 300 B.C. and was one of the ten cities united at the time as the Decapolis.

These ancient cities of hellenistic origin were founded by Greek merchants, to the east of Jordan River. They didn’t represent an official group, but were united by the similarities in language and the same origin. Although they were attached to the Roman Empire, they had certain autonomy in regard to it. They represented a cultural counterpoint in a region where the Semitic influence predominated, composed by Nabataean, Aramaic and Judaic cultures.

Gadara became famous for being home to the famous miracle of the pigs performed by Jesus. As said in the Bible, after having crossed the Sea of Galilee, Jesus arrived at Gadara, finding a man possessed by a legion of demons who terrorized the city. Jesus ordered the demons to leave the body of the man and transfer themselves to the body of pigs that grazed on the hills. It was told there was about two thousand pigs there. After his command, the demons entered the pigs and then suddenly ran down the hills, at last drowning themselves in the sea, freeing the city and the possessed man from the subjection of the demons.

Little remained of this ancient Greek-Roman city. Built in basaltic stones, it has buildings of a characteristic dark grey color. There are still remnants of a circular church, apparently erected to celebrate the miracle of Jesus, built over an even more ancient tomb, very mysterious.

In this archeological site, one can see the typical roman main avenue, flanked on both sides by adorned pillars.

After the Christian period, the city was conquered by the Arabs and finally was abandoned after an earthquake in 747 A.D.

(This post is an excerpt from my book “Jordan´s Historical Treasures”, from 2014, ISBN 978-85-67911-01-4)

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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One of the most famous archeological sites of Jordan, Jerash is one of the most well-preserved Greek-Roman cities from the beginning of the Christian Era, where you can admire the urban and architectonic labor of that period.

Buried because of earthquakes during the Middle Age, Jerash was rediscovered in 1806. When the excavations began, proofs were found that its occupation dated from before the Bronze Age.

Jerash was one of the cities that composed Decapolis.

(This post is an excerpt from my book “Jordan´s Historical Treasures”, from 2014, ISBN 978-85-67911-01-4)

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

Marcelo Ozorio at Jerash – Jordan

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The Citadel is an admirable place and is one of the few spots in all the planet where man is constantly present since very remote times.

The Citadel is the historical and civilizational axis of Amman, the beautiful capital of present-day Jordan, for all cultures, in their ancestry, posted there first their legacy.

Occupied since Prehistory, the Citadel houses vestiges and objects that date back to the beginning of civilization (6000 to 7000 B.C.).

When entering the Citadel, the first thing you see are slabs representing this long journey of human saga. The slabs show all the different civilizations that lived there throughout the ages.

Located on the top of a circular mountain offering a 360 degree view, it gives us the impression of being in a majestic and strategic Olympus, which reigns until today as a geographical and testimonial vestige of times and ages past…

We can admire, surprised, the pharaonic grandeur of giant pillars of the monumental Temple of Hercules. Little has remained, except for two or three whole columns and a few others partially preserved, but one can clearly realize the architectural power of the Greek-Roman civilization that resided in Amman, called at the time as Philadelphia, one of the pillars of sustenance and power in the East.

Entering the simple museum, we realize all the legacy of the place. We find the oldest statues created by human beings, preserved to this day, dated to 6500 B.C.

Besides pre-historical pieces, the museum also brings collections of Rome, the Nabataean kingdom and other ancient civilizations, some not very known in the West, found in Jordan lands. Interesting are the clay sarcophagus, which points to the practice of burying the dead vertically, until then never found at another place or culture.

The Citadel still brings testimony to the passage of religions through time, showing the polychrome faith of the Romans, passing from the monotheistic Christian Byzantine civilization that pulsed from the neighbor Constantinople, evolving to the current mosques of Muslin faith.

At the Citadel, the many archeological sites reveal this indivisible line of the history that goes through the labyrinthine centuries of human adventure.

(This post is an excerpt from my book “Jordan´s Historical Treasures”, from 2014, ISBN 978-85-67911-01-4)

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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Located in a region close to Amman, Madaba is known as the city of the mosaics. The mosaic is an ancient art which dates to Mesopotamia. At Madaba, it consists of puzzle tablets forming images commonly organized horizontally on the churches’ floors.

It’s inhabited since 4500 B.C., in other words since pre-historical times, which basically makes this city a land deep in so much saint history. Just to have an idea, it was one of the cities divided between the twelve tribes of Israel in the time of the exodus. You know what that is? Just like me, probably not, but one thing we know for sure: this is all very remote! Biblical quotes, Israelite kings, Nabataean Period, annexation by Rome, Byzantine Christian Empire, the beginning of the Christian Age, Jerusalem, map of the Holy Land, Promised Land, Moses, Mount Nebo and so many other terms make Madaba an endless mosaic complex of ancient history.

The city today is well organized to receive visitors from the whole world. It has many churches with well preserved mosaics and a restoration and conservation service through worldwide effort, which permits the visitor to dive in this unfathomable biblical atmosphere.

Madaba is an interesting and curious destination.

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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Calakmul has the tallest pyramidal structure left by mayan civilization in all america …

So I immediately knew I would like to go there, personally …

The archaelogical site is inside a dense and big jungle … almost in the border between Mexico and Guatemala … close to another ancient known mayan city, Tikal …

Nowadays only jungle covers this immense area that once had about 50,000 people living…

To reach Calakmul you enter the Calakmul Biosphere Protected Area. I left the city of Xpujil very early in the morning. After 55 km in a paved road, you enter the indians area, so you have to pay an fee and then drive 60 kms of a very narrow and winding road until you can finally reach the pyramids… and pay another fee…

The sensation there is very impressive … especially if you are alone … which were my case in the first hours of a morning in a low season day…

It’s like a ghost town with no ghosts anymore …

Trees are very tall and very green, stones are gray and obscure … which makes a dual tone constrast …

It´s not a bad feeling but a strange vibe of the ancestors when exploring this place … once you start to imagine how they were … but, in fact, you can not, because you immediately feel that much time has passed, which makes it is impossible to guess what was going on this place which dates back to 2000 BC …

I have been in other old places like Tiwanaku, Yerbas Buenas, Chavin de Huantar, Citadel, Roman and Greek Cities and so many others but Calakmul has induced me the most undefined sensation of time i have ever sensed…

The buildings are not really buildings but giant stoned structures … with hundreds of stairs based on triangular platforms that you climb, climb and climb again until you reach the top after passing through many levels …

On the open part for public visitation, because maybe 95% of complex has not yet been discovered, you find about 6 big structures …
I have climbed all of them … it takes a while to climb them but once at the top, you can see the horizont line of the planet, which means to see never ending jungle and the line of the sky … and the top of other neighboored structures, emerging from jungle …

all the place has many stelas, which are big slabs with both side showing carved figures as kings, warriors, animals and inscriptions …
Calakmul, which means 2 big pyramids side by side, was known at its time as the reign of the snake …

It’s a good experience for those who like to explore remote places.

“Calakmul evidences an uninterrupted architectural sequence which extended across fourteen centuries ( 550 B.C – 900 A. D). Its outstanding architecture includes figures sculpted in stone and modeled in stucco; other noteworthy features of the site are the great quantity of stelae and dated monuments, upon which the history of Calakmul’s rulers is recorded.

In the Mayan region, toward the end of the Middle Preclassic period (700 – 300 B.C), important public urban works were undertaken. During this period, the largest structures of Calakmul’s history were constructed. This was also when the site’s first public architecture appeared, making an effort to define administrative activities.

During the 5th century in Calakmul, extensive remodeling was initiated, although this activity didn’t include a modification of the city’s urban plan, which was established in the Preclassic period. Among these works is the noteworthy remodeling of the great foundation of Structure Il.

The rulers who inherited the throne of Calakmul initiated public as well as private urban works, such as palatial complexes, in various sectors of the city. They built structures to be used in artistic production and specialized craftsmanship; it was here where members of royal lineage ordered for the making of ceramics and other objects used in ritual. It is likely that toward the end of the Late Classic period (600 – 800 A.D.), a series of reforms and public works were initiated, changing the city’s image.

The peak of greatest prosperity in Calakmul occurred during the Late Classic period, during which the majority of monuments, known as ‘’smooth stelae’’ (or stelas lisas) were erected in the Great Plaza; Construction at the time, however, was restricted to minor remodeling. This era’s high yields with regard to ceramic production, along with that of the Early Classic period, indicate that both periods represent times of greatest human population at the site.”

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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“Teachings of the Buddha consisting of commentaries and sub commentaries inscribed on 1774 marble slabs erected by Ukhan TI the Ermit
in A.D 1313″

This is an inscription found on a scoreboard of the entrance of Sandamuni Pagoda, an old pagoda from XIV century.

It is a fantastic place, with all these marble boards containing teachings of the Buddha.

Each board is housed within its own sanctuary, all being equal and arranged geometrically.

Intriguing, labyrinthine, special and mysterious. A rather unique place. And that continues in the nearby Kuthodaw Pagoda.

At the central point of the complex, you meet this gorgeous solid iron Buddha, which is known as the Buddha that shines as the moon.

Mandalay is a very interesting and nice old city.

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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The Astonishing Treasure at Petra – Jordan

Petra is an ancient city located in Jordan, constructed by an extraordinary civilization with a great sense of aesthetics and design.

Petra is very famous worldwide with the facade named “The Treasure”, a very known monument erected to honor the Nabatean Kings.

Petra is a very large and extensive archaeological site with lots of remainings, you could stay a whole week if you want to see Petra in details.

Visitations lately may have been reduced because the syrian conflicts and the general turbulences at Middle East, but this old city, that existed between 400AC to 700 DC, will be always a very interesting place to visit.

You can stay in regular hotels, not expensive, easy to book and very close to the entrance. I paid U$ 60.00 for a 3 day visit in 2012.

The area contain a great amount of rose rock so this ancient city is also called the rose city.

Although the treasure is the most famous facade, my preference remains at a second one called “The Monastery”. You have to climb about one hour by an old and rocky trail to reach “The Monastery”. At the other side, at the top, you can see the Wadi Rum Desert.

If you have the chance, this is a place you won´t regret to visit. At any direction you go, you always see something interesting to explore. All the facades are merely stylized caves and you find tombs inside, many of them are open for visitation.

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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The glorious, remarkable, artistic and sacred city of Machu Picchu is the maximum expression left by the Inca Culture.

Employing a refined intelligence, the architects of Machu Picchu managed to group amounts of rocks, harmoniously disposed, on sloping terrains highly mountainous. In an incredible scenery of natural beauty, a city was richly shaped.

More than any scientific, religious or archeological discovery can reveal, the following true is gracefully imposed: when human nature concentrates in Perfection, the result is the production of Beauty, which existence invokes to Human Soul the desire of producing more and more Beauty.

Beauty can not be separated from harmony with Nature, that´s why Machu Picchu is perfect.

Photos, videos and texts by Marcelo Ozorio

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Coba has one of the few pyramids in Mexico you can really climb. Most of them are forbidden, which is compreensive and annoying at same time.

Coba is near Cancun, so, the site can be suddenly crowded. I arrived pretty late and 15 minutes later I had the pyramid for myself but the colorful clothes of people gave a good contrast with the dull gray of the old pyramid at almost sunset.

Coba is a big mayan archaeological site and only a little part is restored by the archaeologists. There are many places to discover like mesoamerican ball courts and other interesting contructions.

Anyway, this is a fun place to visit from Mayan classic period.

500 to 900 AD.

Located at Quintana Roo State at Yucatan Peninsula.

You can read more at:

Photos, video and text by Marcelo Ozorio

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