Pakistan Picspam Part 2 - Taxila

[lady_of_clunn]

Taxila is the place where Alexander the Great had to realise that total world domination was not going to happen. They did leave a lot of Greek culture in this ancient Bhuddist place, though :)

Taxila is such a big place with so many interesting archeological sites that it would literally take weeks to really explore it. Alas, I only had one afternoon, of which two hours of wonderful daylight was dedicated to visit yet another orange grove. Yes. Don't ask.

We did manage to visit the local museum and the excavation site of one of the oldest universities of the world.





















The 'pool' in the middle of the structure was a water lily pond, all around it there were classrooms with student accommodation above. There was also an assembly hall, a kitchen and a scullery, meditation cells for the monks and their stupas = graves :)













The Orange Grove

Comments

[elvishly.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, Alexander...

The 'pool' in the middle of the structure was a water lily pond, all around it there were classrooms with student accommodation above. There was also an assembly hall, a kitchen and a scullery, meditation cells for the monks and their stupas = graves :)

Sounds pretty fab. Water lily pond!

[lady-of-clunn.livejournal.com]

It must have been amazing!

Very serene. I am sure it was a great place of learning.

And yes, Alexander. There is a people in Pakistan, whose culture has next to nothing in common with the rest of the country. Their dress is more Balkan-like than Asian, one could say Macedonian :) They are said to be the descendants of invalid soldiers of Alexander's army, left behind when they had to leave.

[ratherbsailing.livejournal.com]

That's really cool that they allow people into their sanctuary/place of worship. I would think it would be disruptive. Do they charge people? Thanks for sharing these, truthfully, I've never heard of Taxila, but it looks like somewhere I should have heard of.

[lady-of-clunn.livejournal.com]

All the monasteries have been derelict for 1500 years, it's purely a historical monument now.

The government does charge people to visit - 30 Rupees for Pakistanis 300 for foreigners ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxila

[willowfaerie2.livejournal.com]

Those are gorgeous pics! I'm so envious. You get to travel all over. I would think the climate would be hot with an orange grove, but you're wearing a sweater. Was it cold that day?

[lady-of-clunn.livejournal.com]

It is horribly hot and humid in summer - I was ill most of the time.

These pictures were taken in early December. During the day I just wore a salwar kameez (traditional dress) with long sleeves; but when the sun started to go down I needed my cardigan.

December is prime orange season in Pakistan :)

[scarletladyy.livejournal.com]

Lovely pictures :)