Kiyomizudera Temple, Maruyama Park and Heian Jingu Shrine in Autumn

The valley from the viewing terrace. Kiyomizudera

Okay, lets play a game. Can you spot the pagoda? And the people walking? We visited Kiyomizudera temple on the same day as Tofukuji. From Kiyomizudera, we followed the walking trail towards Nanzenji temple, passing through Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Chion-In and Heian Jingu Shrine.


The viewing terrace. See the people?

This is the famous view of Kiyomizudera temple, the photo of the viewing terrace that you can always see in any websites, brochures, adverts, magazines etc. The construction is awesome, when you view from bottom up. The day became gloomy again. It was around 1 in the afternoon and the sun decided so hid itself again. So tempermental.


The view of the small pagoda and the city from Kiyomizudera grounds

Kiyomizudera is insanely popular with the tourists and is always filled with them even if it is not a peak season. For this reason, I do not really like going to Kiyomizudera. I have only been there twice, thank god. When we reached the foot of Kiyomizudera street, we were shocked (and I thought it would not be possible to be shock given that we just came from Tofukuji which was also jam-packed!) to see the throng of people clogging up the street. Giler!


Work of art

This man was painting the view. Pretty good. One thing about Japan, the arts (all kinds like music, painting, photography, pottery, glass making etc) is hugely popular and the people embrace it and live it.


Maruyama Koen

We passed by Maruyama park on our way to Heian Jingu Shrine. The park is famous for its sakuras and also the maple trees.


Staying warm

Saw these two ducks trying to stay warm in the cold weather.


Overlooking the lake

Street artists will come here to perform for the crowd to earn a few bucks. Or some just do it for fun.


Are you looking at me?

At last we reached Heian Jingu Shrine. The main grounds of the shrine remains the same in every season due to the lack of trees and gardens. But there is the shrine's park next to it and for that you would have to pay to enter. That park is famous for its sakuras. When we reached there, we forgot it was the "Shichi go san" celebration for the kids and we were pleasantly surprised to see so many kids in cute little kimonos. This particular girl probably could not make heads or tails out of this celebration, I think she was just trying her best to walk in that kimono. I did not see her smile once, not even when her parents were taking her photos.


So adorable

This girl however was having the time of her life. She was too busy playing to notice anything else. Such a cute smile. She is three years old and her brother five. "Shichi go san" is held to celebrate the children's 3rd, 5th (only boys) and 7th (only girls) birthday. The kids will be dressed in kimonos (so adorable) and taken to the temple for blessings and photography sessions. The whole package is very costly. Go to Eddie's post for more info.


Again, so cute!

There she is again, playing slide-the-box-down-the-slope in front of the shrine's gate.

Tofukuji temple in autumn

The next day, on Sunday, we went to Tofukuji Temple, famous for its autumn foliage. Of course we weren't the only ones there, we joined thousands (could be thousands) of people from the tour groups. Brightness and contrast had been adjusted.



We went through a covered wooden bridge which had the famous view of Tofukuji temple (like the first one above). It had the view of the viewing terrace surrounded by the red, yellow and orange maple trees. The sun was also playing hide and seek today, disappearing for a while behind the clouds.



Tofukuji's name is a combination of the famous Todaiji temple and Kofukuji temple in Nara. Some of the buildings in this temple had been destroyed by fire before but it still remains as one of the five main Zen temples in Kyoto. This is the gorgeous red maple tree on the northern garden grounds. It was easily the most popular tree there. Wait, there were two trees there, the combination of their leaves were beautiful.



There were 53 subtemples before but right now, only 23 are left. This is the view of the viewing terrace from the northern gardens. Brightness and contrast adjusted.



The northern gardens. After walking across the Tsuten-kyo bridge over a small stream, you will reach the northern gardens. This garden is a part of the autumn tinted valley called Sengyokukan, which is the famous view of Tofukuji temple.



This was truly the reddest tree I had seen this autumn. Probably because the sun was shinning on it, highlighting the deep red hues, bringing it to life. The branches are against the roof of the Tsuten-kyo bridge.



Yeah, yeah, I love this tree. That is the Tsuten-kyo bridge in the background. You can see the two maple species, one of them is the Acer palmatum 'dissectum' species which has the laceleaf or finely dissected foliage. I love that type the best although most that I had seen had deep red hues unlike the brighter red ones of Acer palmatum.



The sun was shining very brightly right now. On our way out, I saw this couple sitting under the maple trees and I thought they made a cute subject for a picture. Brightness and contrast adjusted because the glare from the sun was too bright!

Kinkakuji Temple in Autumn

The very popular Kinkakuji or also known as the Golden Pavillion. We went there, Amy and I, after our Ohara trip. We decided to skip Mt Hiei and Enryakuji temple. The place was just absolutely packed with people. I should be used to crowds by now but I just don't like them because some people have no manners, it is irritating!



The entrance to Kinkakuji. I had my doubts about the maple trees, I was not sure if they had changed colour already but we were in luck. We joined the throng of people at the entrance and had to stand in a long line just to buy the ticket.



This was on the *free* grounds. I don't know what that carved stone was suppose to represent. A boat? Pity I could not read the kanji.



And this is the close up of the maple leaves casting shadows unto the carved stone. Gorgeous colours.



The crowd of people walking along the gardens of Kinkakuji. There were a lot of foreigners here as well unlike Ohara's Sanzen-in which were mostly Japanese. Kinkakuji was first constructed as a villa for the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu but his son later turned it into a temple. In 1950, a monk burnt the temple to the ground. 5 years later, the temple was reconstructed to its original design using real gold foil coverings.



A splash of bright red against the green trees.



The side view of Kinkakuji. Amy was disappointed to learn that the temple was not open to public. We joked that she wasn't President Bush who came here last week.



The temple gardens. I like the look of the carpet of red leaves on the ground but at the same time, I like to see leaves on the branches as well. I ask for too much, don't I?



I started with a picture of Kinkakuji and I will end this post with another picture of the Golden pavillion. I think I prefer the view when it snows. The blanket of white goes very well with the golden pavillion.

Sanzen-in temple in autumn

Yes, Turkey post is taking a break again for autumn. My friend Amy came to visit me this autumn. She was in luck as the momiji (autumn) season in Kyoto this year was late and she got to see beautiful red maple leaves. Momiji season had already passed in Sapporo where she was from.



We went to Ohara, which according to Lonely Planet, is a quiet farming town. But on that Saturday, it was anything but quiet. This few weeks is the peak of the momiji season in Kyoto and thus thousands of tourists flock to this area every day. Ohara is famous for its autumn mountain foliage and the famous Sanzen-in temple. The above picture was taken in the grounds of Sanzen-in. I looked at the brochures and saw beautiful maple foliage against that particular temple hall (Ojo-Gokuraku-in hall). However, when we went there, the maple trees were about 70% red and the rest was still green.



I took the above picture outside the temple grounds. The three of us, Amy, Eddie and I, stopped by the gate to take this picture because the two trees on the side of it were beautifully illuminated by the morning sunlight. And we had our McDonalds breakfast there as well. And, when we stopped to take pictures, more and more tourists stopped by there as well.



And this is the picture of the same gate taken from inside the temple grounds. The sun was playing hide and seek with us that day as it was quite cloudy. So we had to wait for the sun to come out. But since it was around noon when we visited the temple, when the sun did come out, it was freaking bright!



This is the moss garden in front of the Ojo-Gokuraku hall. Sanzen-in temple is famous for its moss covered grounds, just like Ginkakuji temple and also for its autumn foliage. Sanzen-in temple is one of the Tendai Monzeki temples. Monzeki temples in history had a member of the imperial family as its chief priest. This particular temple had 32 imperial family members as its chief priests.



The principal figure in this temple is the Buddha of Healing. Inside the Ojo-Gojuraku-in Hall are the Amitabha Trinity statues of Amitabha and his two attendants: Kannon(for mercy) and Seishi (for wisdom).



Sanzen-in is also famous for hydrangeas. It has a beautiful hydrangea garden called Oku-no-in where you can stroll and enjoy the blooming flowers.



There is a tea house in the temple grounds for you to sit, relax and enjoy the view while sipping hot tea. The whole place was packed with tourists. Everybody had to wait in turn to take a picture of any particular scenery. You can be pretty sure that if you alone stop to take a picture of something that no one else seemed to be taking, others will sure to follow.



The beautiful orange-red maple leaves against the Japanese cedar tree, illuminated by the sunlight. Gorgeous isn't it?

Next up : Kinkakuji Temple, Tofukuji Temple, Kyomizudera, Maruyama Park, Heian Jingu and Nanzenji in the autumn of 2005.

Antalya (Antalya Museum and Beldibi cave beach area) Day 10 and 11. Turkey

Statue of Aphrodite

After returning from Manavgat Waterfalls, we went to visit Antalya Museum. For those of you who love history, you shouldn't miss the splendid museums in Turkey. If you go to Istanbul, you HAVE to see the museum there. If you are in Antalya, then Antalya museum and in Ankara, the Museum of Anatolian Civilization.

About the statue of Aphrodite : From the 2nd Century A.D. Excavated in Perge in 1956 and made out of fine grain white marble. Depicts Aphrodite as a young woman. This is a roman period copy of the statue made by sculpture Praxiteles in 4th century B.C.


Statue of the Hunting Artemis

Dated 2nd century A.D. and was found during excavation work in Perge in 1970. Carved from white marble, it depicts Artemis as a dynamic, moving, athletic girl. This is a roman period copy of the Versailles Artemis and was copied from a Hellenistic period original.


Statue of Zeus

Found during excavation in Perge in 1970 and dated 2nd century A.D. Also made of white marble. This statue is a roman period copy of a classical period original.


Statue of Hygeia

2nd century A.D. Discovered during excavations in Perge in 1981. Made out of white marble. The snake which is her symbol is wound around the horn of plenty that she holds in her left hand and feeds from it. Hygeia is the goddess of health. She carries the symbols of the underworld (the snake) and the word hygiene comes from her.


The sarcophagus of garlands

This sarcophagus was illegally dug and shipped out of Turkey and subsequently, was exhibited in Brooklyn Museum. It was brought back to Turkey in 1995. This sarcophagus is decorated with garlands of leaves, flowers and fruits. Considered to be an orginal invention of the Perge sculptors. In between the garlands were masks and Medusa heads, carved to protect the tomb from evil.


The sarcophagus of Domitia Julianus and Domitia Philiska

2nd century A.D. Close up shot of the carved figures on the sarcophagus. Belongs to the group "Columned tombs of Asia Minor". The desciption in Ancient Greek described the tomb as belonging to Domitias Julianus and his wife.


Sunny summer afternoon

The next day we headed back towards Beldibi Cave to spend the whole day at the beach nearby. It was a lovely place as it was secluded and people-free, though you do get a couple of tourists walking along the beach from the hotels nearby. There is another, more famous beach in Antalya, Konyaalti beach, which is jam-packed with tourists. We skipped that. However, that beach had all the amenities like showers, sun deck chairs, restaurants etc. This beach is isolated, so it is just you and nature.


Lunch!

Our simple but delicious lunch of bread stuffed with white cheese and eaten together, yes folks, together, with melons (honey dew and watermelon). This is my first time trying to eat white cheese together with melons! But the taste was unbelievable. The juicy sweet melons go very well with the white cheese. Try it!


The colourful pebbles

This is a pebbled beach area rather than a sandy beach. So, it is a bit painful on the soles but once you get used to it and when you wade deeper off shore, it becomes less pebbled and more sandy. I love the pebbles because they are so colourful! Collected some to take home. I love the green ones.


Dinner

After a whole day of just swimming, relaxing and dozing, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner. We went to another kebab restaurant and this time we had something like Turkish casserole, this, I believe was beef. It was good and goes well with the bread.

Antalya (Perge, Aspendos and Manavgat Waterfalls) Day 10. Turkey

Cactus against the blue sky

We stayed in Pera Palace Hotel in the heart of Kale Ici area. It took us sometime to find the hotel. Each time we stopped to ask a taxi driver, they kept saying: Go straight and when you see another taxi stand, ask again! Funny. But we finally found the hotel and it was a charming place.


The reception area of Pera Palace Hotel

You know, the owner kind of reminded me of Vin Diesel....I guess it was because he shaved his head and had that broad muscular type body.


The Roman Gate. Perge, Antalya

We started the day with a trip to Perge, the ancient city of Pamphylia. It was believed to be established in the 12th or 13th century B.C.


Boy posing for photo for his dad

Perge was one of the most important city in ancient Pamphylia. This city had a rich history, being ruled by both the Lydians and Persians and in 334 B.C, Alexander the Great.


The Southern Baths

Perge's glorious years were in the 2nd and 3rd A.D during the Roman era. The ruins seen in this place belongs to that era.


A row of marble columns

Excavations by Turkish archaeologists started in 1947 and had continued ever since. The beautiful statues excavated are being displayed in the Antalya Museum.


The ruins of the Hellenistic door

One of the ruins that stood out was the ruins of the Hellenistic door, which you will see as soon as you step foot through the Roman Gate. Dated to the 3rd century B.C. It had twin towers and a horseshoe shaped courtyard.


The theater of Aspendos

We then headed towards the theater of Aspendos, one of the most well known ancient Roman amphitheater. And it is still functional till this day with concerts being held here. When we were there, there was a dance extravaganza being held there. There are two levels of seating and the theater can fit about 15 000 people.


Through the walls

This theater is famous for its magnificent acoustic. Apparently the slightest sound made in the stage can be heard from the upper galleries. So to test this, my friend, Shiori-san, very bravely went to the stage area and sang! She got such a lovely voice and entertained us all......including several parties of the tour group. Of course, everyone showed their appreciation and gave her a hearty applause! Bravo!


Aspendos theater, the upper gallery

I liked the view from the gallery which has 59 arches. This gallery was thought to have been built later.


Manavgat Waterfall

On our way back we stopped by Manavgat Waterfall, as did all the tour groups we met in Perge and Aspendos! A charming spot with restaurants and cafes. A nice place to relax and enjoy a cup of tea next to the river.


Close up shot

The waterfall isn't tht high though so don't expect too much. Apparently, it has dried up in the past years....there used to be more water flowing. And it is summer, so it is dry. But the water had a lovely green hue. Malaysian rivers had always been murky and brown or clear with no colours.....at least those I had seen. Have not been to Sabah and Sarawak yet though.


A closer close up shot

Should have taken a picture of the waterfalls with those blur running waters effect that you always see. The area is fenced up though what was the point of fencing it up, I had no idea. You see, the fence was so low that you can easily climb over and which everyone did of course. A couple of kids were enjoying themselves swimming in the river and jumping from the edge of the falls.


The calm before the *storm*

I don't know why but this picture sort of reminded me of some pictures I had seen in Nat Geographic...the angle or something.


Pretty dahling...

I saved the cutest picture for last. Saw this pretty camel (don't they have such lovely eyes?) with this cute yellow scarf outside Aspendos. Now come on everybody....let's say "Awwwww....."