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Maduwanwela Walawwa is a historical Mansion Located in upper South of Sri Lanka in between Embilipitiya and Suriyawewa (Rathnapura District)As per The Historical resources The Mansion ( Walauva) had been built since 1700s to 1900s by the Maduwanwela Clan in the middle of a land of over 80 000 Acres.

Main Entrance to the Land


Road Towards the Mansion

Architecture

Maduwanwela Walawwa is a portrait of Kandyan architecture. The Mansion had been built under Maduwanwelas for centuries. After the constructions added by Maduwawela Maha Disawe, the black prince the total area of the residence was 20 acres. He made the number of rooms 121 and the number of middle yards 21. But today only 47 rooms and 7 middle yards are remaining.



A religious Bo Tree can be seen at the main entrance of the Walauva and there is a special room for religious activities inside the residence.




One of Middle yard

Mosaic Pattern

Another remarkable feature of Maduwanwela Walawwa’s architecture is the  Mosaic tile pattern of the floor















the picture of the queen and valuable gold coins and gems been embossed on floor. But nowadays the gems and coins cannot be seen on the floor. Even though the tiles were lain in 1905, they are still in excellent condition.

Against the foreign rulers

He was a very short man of 4 feet 8 inches in height. Because of that, every door frame of the mansion was built just five feet tall. The only person who could go through the arches on horseback without hitting his head was Maduwanwela Disawa. Because of this reason, all the visitors including English rulers had to bow their heads to Maha Disawa before entering his residence. He didn’t even respect the queen of England. 
Broken pieces of tiles carrying the picture of the queen was fixed to the floor in order to get them stepped on by the visitors. British rulers were unable to stand against Maduwanwela Maha Disawa's behaviour.

Photo of Maduwanwela Maha Disawa

The Garden

A stone gate frame can be seen at the entrance of the estate. As another fascinating feature of this estate the extensive gardens can be introduced. Three separate boundary walls segment the garden and Maduwanwela Disawa had constructed three stone arches.

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Photos Taken on May 2015
Source 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maduwanw…

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Dambulla Cave Temple

Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla is situated in the central part of the Sri Lanka. This site is situated 148 km east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy. 

Way Towards The Dambulla Rock





View From The Top 

Way Towards the Cave Temple




Golden Buddha Statue 


New Temple

Dambulla Cave Temple

Dambulla Temple is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life.

The temple is composed of five caves, which have been converted into shrine rooms. The caves, built at the base of a 150m high rock during the Anuradhapura (1st century BC to 993 AD) and Polonnaruwa times (1073 to 1250), are by far the most impressive of the many cave temples found in Sri Lanka. Access is along the gentle slope of the Dambulla Rock, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding flat lands, which includes the rock fortress Sigiriya, 19 km away. 

Statues of Cave Temple

 There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. 


























Paintings 

Historical Background

rom very early times isolated rock caves such as Dambulla, Mihintale and Aluvihara have being the choice of residence by Buddhist hermits. The antiquity of Dambulla is authenticated by inscription in Brahmin script. The characters of the script at Dambulla is distinctly that of the 3rd century A.D. There is one inscription that records “Damarakita teraha lene agata anagata catu disa sagasa dine. Gamini abhaya rajiyahi karate” (Which is interpreted –the cave of the Elder Dhammarakkhita, given to the Community of the four quarters, present or future. In the reign of Gamini Abhaya). This is evidence that these caves had benn used as residence for the Buddhist clergy since pre-Christian times.

Sigiriya (Lion Rock) is an ancient palace located in the central Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 metres (660 ft) high. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle theCulavamsa, this site was selected by King Kasyapa (477 – 495 CE) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes.Sigiriya

Archaeological remains and features

Sigiriya consists of an ancient citadel built by King Kashyapa during the 5th century. The Sigiriya site contains the ruins of an upper palace located on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palaces located behind the lavish lower gardens, and moats and ramparts which protected the citadel. The site was both a palace and a fortress. The upper palace on the top of the rock includes cisterns cut into the rock that still retain water. The moats and walls that surround the lower palace are still exquisitely beautiful.
















View from The Mirror Wall

The Water Gardens

The water gardens are built symmetrically on an east-west axis. They are connected with the outer moat on the west and the large artificial lake to the south of the Sigiriya rock. All the pools are also interlinked using an underground conduit network fed by the lake, and connected to the moats. A miniature water garden is located to the west of the first water garden, consisting of several small pools and watercourses. This recently discovered smaller garden appears to have been built after the Kashyapan period, possibly between the 10th and 13th centuries.





The Mirror Wall
Originally this wall was so highly polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of brick masonry wall and covered in highly polished white plaster,^[11] the wall is now partially covered with verses scribbled by visitors to the rock. The mirror wall has verses dating from as early as the 8th century. People of all types wrote on the wall, on varying subjects such as love, irony, and experiences of all sorts.

Sigiri Frescoes

The paintings would have covered most of the western face of the rock, an area 140 metres long and 40 metres high. There are references in the graffiti to 500 ladies in these paintings. However, most have been lost forever. More frescoes, different from those on the rock face, can be seen elsewhere, for example on the ceiling of the location called the "Cobra Hood Cave".

 























Ruins of the Lion's mouth



Lion's Paw

Other Archaeological remains and features

Cobra Hood Cave





Photos Taken on 24th May 2014
Source 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya

Invite you to visit My previous Journal
Walk-to-Dimbulagala
 aliasjjj.deviantart.com/journa…

Dimbulagala Rock & Ancient Temple is situated 16 kilometres south east of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. which has a history over 7000 years, A most notable period of its history is associated with King Parakramabahu II, in the 13th century. As per the legend , an uncle of King Ravana named "Dhumraksha"   had lived on these rocks. He overlooked the sophisticated weapons facility built here by King "Ravana", where the weapons he used for wars against his enemies were developed and stored for safety. Because of Dhumraksha, this rock came to be called as "Dhumraksha-Giri", which became "Dumrakgala" that eventually became Dimbulagala.


Dimbulagal Rock view From the Main Road


Way Towards the top of the Rock 



Towards the top of the Rock 



Walk through the Rock




Way though the Forrest



Nice Texture of the Rock



View From the Top of the Rock



View from the Top



Head of Ancient Buddha Statue



Creative Buddha Statue : by a Buddhist Monk made of Ebony Wood 



Statues at New Temple 



Statues at New Temple 


Statues at New Temple 



Special Thanks To 

Dimbulagala: Over 7000 years in the making.

By Suresh Darmarathne  slwalk.blogspot.com/2014/04/di…