We started our day out by getting through immigration, then flagging down a cab. Saw some men gambling on the streets in front of our cab! We had decided to go to Elephanta Island. We caught the boat near the Gateway to India Building.
The boat ride was one hour each way, 11 kilometers from port. We paid 200 extra rupees ($4 US Dollars) to sit on the top deck with a view, cushioned chairs and great company. We met a young man from Greece who is traveling the world.
A view of the beautiful Taj Hotel from the water. Remember this is where the terrorists attacked in 2008. This is a major port with a lot of fishing vessels and a Navy guard post.
We arrived at Elephanta Island! In 1534 AD the island passed into the hands of the Portuguese before it passed to the British. The Portuguese found a mammoth stone elephant here, this is how the island received its name. The Elephant caves are dated to a period between c. 600-635AD.The Elephant caves are in the UNESCO world heritage list since 1987. The statues are Buddhist in character, but with the decline of Buddhism, the architectural was continued by the Hindus. The cave temples are dedicated to Shiva. Shiva was conceived as the Supreme Deity, as both the Creator and the Destroyer of the universe.
There is a miniature train that took us from the pier to the foot of the hills where the caves are. The caves are only 1/4 mile away, and 120 steps to reach the cave temples, but the hike was hard going uphill in 90+ degree heat and humidity.
There are local vendors selling wares, and the wild monkeys were amazing! I love this one feeding its baby. A goat befriended Jerry and this bull was actually snorting and charging, making us both nervous.
The Elephanta Caves represent a masterpiece of human creative genius and bear a unique and exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition. The shrines depicts Hinduism and their beliefs. The Pakistanis target practiced on the statues causing a lot of damage.
This is the entrance to the caves, and our guide Deepak.
This is Mahayogi Shiva – the lord of yogis and the lord of dancers. His face, though broken, express great spiritual strength and calmness.
The Nataraj Shiva or the king of dancers. The lower portion is completely missing.
The Andihakasura Vadh is the Shiva as killer of the demon Andhaka
This is Kalyan – Sundra Murti, details of Shiva and Parvati. Prior to their marriage, she is on his right hand side. After marriage, the wife must always be on the left side, closest to the heart.
We headed back on the little boat to Mumbai, walked around and shopped.
So here is the latest pirate update and the globe graphics! Mumbai (the farthest arrow to the right) is where we are leaving tonight. We are headed to the Aden Sea, then up through the Red Sea, (the second blue arrow) coming right next to Oman, Yemen, Somalia and Saudi Arabia, (the third blue arrow). Our next destination is Egypt (the red arrow). There have been recent incidents with pirates and ships in this narrow area. More barbed wire was added to open decks today. We are told that communication will be intermittent, but we will try and keep you all posted via the blog. We still don’t feel that we are in any danger.
Love and miss you all. We have 29 days left, can’t wait to get back to the States! Boy of boy we are so blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment