A few more winter photos from Kashmir. Continue reading
Tag Archives: kashmir
Martand Sun Temple in the Winter
I revisited the old sun (Surya) temple at Martand while it was under snow, and here are the pics! Continue reading
Achabal Bagh in the Winter
A few photos of the Mughal Gardens at Achabal in Kashmir, all snowed up in the winter. These gardens and waterworks date back to the 17th c AD and are supposedly also called Begampur Bagh, having been constructed by Nur Jahan. The last building in the sequence of pavilions over the central water channel hides a spring that feeds the water channels of the garden and then forms a stream through the town of Achabal. Continue reading
Avantipur and Martand
Avantipur and Martand, on the road from Srinagar to Pehelgam, are the site of three imposing Hindu temples. The two temples in Avantipur date from the 9th c AD, and the the largest of the three in Martand is from the 8th c. While all three temples are in ruins, there is enough there (after reconstruction) to give an idea of what stone temple architecture in Kashmir from that time would have looked like. The style of these temples is unique, heavily influenced by the Buddhist Gandhara school of art, which in turn is heavily influenced by Greek and Hellenistic art and architecture. Scholarship mentions that these Kashmiri temples also show direct Roman influences, but I wonder if this influence could also be redirected from later Gandharan times. Continue reading
Tomb of the Mother of Zain-ul-Abidin
This is another monument in Srinagar’s old city but is unlike most others, being a royal tomb instead of a mosque/shrine. However it is interesting in a couple of ways, the first being in the architecture of the main mausoleum itself, and the second in the evidence of it having being built at the site of an earlier Hindu temple. Continue reading
Sleeping on the job
Sleeping on the job, Srinagar
Srinagar’s Mosques and Shrines
Most of Srinagar’s most famous shrines and mosques lie within or close to the old city. The architecture of these monuments is unique, mostly constructed of wood and brick/stone masonry, with multi-levelled sloping roofs and tall spires reminiscent of Hindu and Buddhist religious structures from the western and central Himalayas. They have elaborately and beautifully ornate polychromatic interiors finished with wood and papier-mache. Continue reading
Walking Through Downtown Srinagar
I visited Srinagar in May/June and walked around the old part of the city. This is where most of the famous shrines and mosques of Srinagar are located, but from what I saw on the day I was there (in the middle of tourist season), it’s not much visited by outsiders. This post though focuses on the houses and streetscapes of the old city. Continue reading
Sarson ke Khet 