Polonnaruwa - Sri Lanka

The ancient city of Polonnaruwa which has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1982, is my 2nd Unesco site from Sri Lanka. This card was also sent by Lídia.

Polonnaruwa, in north-central Sri Lanka was the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms. Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers.

The Gal Vihara is a rock temple of the Buddha situated in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. It was constructed in the 12th century by Parakramabahu I. The central feature of the shrine are four images of the Buddha, which have been carved into the face of a large granite rock. The images consist of a large seated figure, another, smaller seated figure inside an artificial cavern, and standing figure and a reclining figure. These are considered to be some of the best examples of ancient Sinhalese sculpting and carving arts, and have made the Gal Vihara one of the most visited monuments in Polonnaruwa.
At 46 feet 4 inches (14.12 m) in length, the reclining image is the largest statue in Gal Vihara, and also one of the largest sculptures in Southeast Asia. It depicts the parinirvana of the Buddha, who is lying on his right side with the right arm supporting the head on a bolster, while the left arm lies along the body and thigh. The palm of the right hand and the soles of the feet have a single lotus flower carved on them.
The upper foot—the left foot of the image—is slightly withdrawn to indicate that the image depicts that the Buddha has attained parinirvana, and is not merely lying down. Unlike the other images, the reclining image does not have a decorated pedestal, and lies on levelled bare rock. - in: wikipedia