Friday, March 04
Hospet & Hampi – Rest Day
Exploring the ancient ruins of Hampi in one day only affords a glimpse of the history it has to offer, but I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit in this amazing place. Hampi was in its prime in the early 1500s and was fortified with high stone walls and irrigated where canals and waterways still run – an impressive infrastructure for its time.
Our first stop was the queen’s bath – an impressive stone structure, surrounded by a moat-like reservoir that actually poured into the pool in the center of this square building. The picture below shows the stone channel where the water spilled into the pool and you can barely see the bottom steps that led into the pool (just to the right of where the water pours - on the adjacent wall). The queen and the royal ladies had this private area for bathing and relaxing.
Next stop was the Mahanavami Platform which was used by the kings at festivals, pre-war ceremonies and to address the people. The entrance to this area had stone doors that are now laying on display out front – here they are:
Here is one corner of the platform and the steps going up. The view is incredible from the top – it’s a 360 degree view of most all the ruins (I have pictures of the view and will share more when I get home):
The royalty had their own separate area:
And this picture below is of the elephant stables… they are massive & ornate in detail even inside each stable.
Here are few more pictures of the highlights of Hampi, first is the Lotus Mahal, possibly the council chamber of the king:
Narasimha Monolith is a carved image of Vishnu, one of the gods that they worship here. It was carved from a single boulder in 1528.
One of the most unique and impressive pieces to me was the stone chariot in the open courtyard below:
Here’s the same chariot from the back:
I can’t begin to describe the detail and workmanship of the carved stone here but here’s just a sample in one of the many pavilions in this area:
Our final stop, after walking through the market was the…… this main temple is still in use today, in fact it is the main temple for this region.
Walking back to the taxi through the market, I took a picture of this sugar cane grinder. They sell fresh sugar cane juice at this stand. The sugar cane is on the shelf below and is put through the grinder on the cart. The juice comes out into a bowl on the other side. Sometimes they add ginger or other herbs before putting in a glass for you to drink… and if you are wondering if I drank some, the answer is no, not this time anyway. There were a thousand flies on all the bowls and the machine so I passed on the opportunity THIS time. J
