This is from a series of films by Global Television shot all over world, giving well photographed introductions to various places, of which we will be focusing on the ones of interest to Buddhists.
The films are quite light introductions to their subjects, mainly good photography, well chosen soundtracks, and a reasonable, but sometimes inaccurate, narration giving a cultural and historical introduction to its subject.
This week the film crew are in Nepal, just east of Kathmandu, at the ancient capital of Bhaktapur, which is one of the most architecturally brilliant sites in Asia.
The city presents many courts, mandirs, and mainly Hindu temples in which the mix of rich red brickwork, carved woodwork and stone carving stand out on all sides; and we also visit some of the richly decorated gates and artificial ponds that are found in the city.
As there are temples and mandirs on all sides it is not feasible to ennumerate them all, but the city seems to be sunk in medieval architecture in 360 degree vistas, and it seems to go from one magnificent scene to another, and even the local and modern architecture is still in keeping with the culture of the past.
We can see from the richness of the sites that Nepal, which is one of the poorest of coutries now, was well developed and flourishing not so long ago, as it stood on the rich trade routes between India and Tibet. Still modern markets and crafts are found, but not enough to drag them out of poverty.
Many of the sites were hit by the 2015 earthquake, and quite levelled, so what we see here is a glimpse of the past; but Bhaktapur has been hit by earthquakes before and has risen from the ashes and destruction, and it surely will do so this time also.
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to see an album of stills click here