Save a Prayer

If you’re getting on a bit, like me, you may remember Duran Duran’s video of their hit song ‘Save a Prayer’ (1982). It was filmed on location in Sri Lanka and notably Polonnaruwa, although I had no idea of this fact at the time. This was a year before the 25 year Sri Lankan Civil war began. To get you in the mood to read this, enjoy this little memory:

The Tanks

Polonnaruwa, the city subsumed be the jungle for seven centuries, (12th-20th) is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and one of the cultural highlights of Sri Lanka. Although it was the capital of Sri Lanka in its 12th century heyday, it was lost when Indian invaders arrived and then subsequently abandoned it.

Of huge agricultural importance were the tanks, or reservoirs, built c2000 years ago. These were a massive feat of engineering which were built to irrigate the surrounding towns in this dry zone. The tanks are still a mystery in terms of their construction, a bit like the pyramids of Giza still are.

Just down the road from Polonnaruwa is Minneriya National Park. The focal point is its tank which covers 11sq miles and was built by King Mahasena in the 4th century AD. Elephants come to the reservoir and use it as a watering hole in the dry season and to seek their mates.

Dambulla

About 60km further along the road is Dambulla with its extensive and intricate cave temples. They house over 150 Buddha statues and paintings dating back centuries before Christ. It’s here that numerous monks in orange robes float around looking extremely graceful.

Sigiriya Rock

Next on the ancient trail is Sigiriya, also known as Lion Rock. As with the other ruins, Sigiriya wasn’t excavated until the early 1900s and extensive analysis was not conducted until many decades later. Sigiriya is a several hundred feet high boulder that once formed an inaccessible fort. It’s what John Gimlette in his travel book, Elephant Complex, calls ‘the most beautiful battlefield ever built’. This fortress in the sky was built by a 5th century king who had obtained the throne by murdering his father. After lots of poisonings, throat cuttings and suicides, Sigiriya, in the early centuries AD, was converted into a Buddhist monastery complex. This is THE place to climb at sunrise and wander around its plateau before the day becomes too hot.

Anuradhapura

I’ll end this blog with the sacred city of Anuradhapura. the capital of Sri Lanka for over 1400 years and the seat of over 100 kings and queens. It’s said that Anuradhapura was about as big as Paris is today and its ruins are best explored by cycling in order to take in the extensive scale of this ancient city. It strikes me as extraordinary that a city of this magnitude is most famous today for a sapling from the bodhi tree under which the Buddha become enlightened.

If you enjoy exploring ancient ruins as well as being amongst wildlife then leg 4 together with visiting these sites may just be for you. What do you think?

Here’s hoping today, as Sri Lanka is placed on the UK’s red travel list, that the Covid situation improves rapidly in Sri Lanka and we can get out there at the end of November as planned.

Next up – Leg 5 Polonnaruwa to Trincomolee

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