Mt Huashan

On a wing and a prayer: The extraordinary hanging monasteries that cling to the sides of cliffs

When you're trying to connect with your god, it helps to find some peace and quiet, if you can. But that was, indeed, no such problem for the architects of these impossibly built monasteries. Constructed at dizzying heights on the sides of mountains, they ensured only the most devoted - and vertigo-free - followers would join them for prayer. Many were only accessible by steep and secret paths in order to provide the most seclusion as they sought uninterrupted spiritual awakening. By far the most precarious is a monastery that dangles seemingly in defiance of the laws of physics on the side of Mt Huashan in China. Located around 75 miles east from Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province, Mt Huashan is known as 'The number one precipitous mountain under Heaven'. It is one of the five sacred mountains in China. It is home to several influential Taoist temples where emperors of past dynasties made pilgrimages, making Mt Huashan the holy land of Taoism. It was created in 386AD during the reign of Emporer Theodosius I apparently after two priests discovered a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain. As with most of these great buildings, they aren't the easiest to access. In Greece, the Roussanou Monastery could only be accessed by baskets lifted by pulleys, until roads, steps and bridges were contructed in the 1920s. It is one of six active monasteries in the Meteora complex, one the largest and most important developments of its kind, only behind Mount Athos. The monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pinnacles near the Pinios. Another stunning piece of architecture, which also places a rock at the heart of its construction, is Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka. Built on a 'magma plug', the sacred city contains the ruins of the original temple, which dates back to 500AD. The legs and paws of a lion still remain either side of the entrance, but the head fell down years ago. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.

   صـــــور : الـجـبـال الـمـقـدســة فـي الـصــيــن ... " أمرك عجيب يا صين "

هناك وعلى بعد حوالي 75 ميلاً إل الشرق من مدينة شيان في مقاطعة شنشي الصينية تقع سلسة من الجبال الصخرية تسمى الجبال المقدسة ويقع على كل رأس جبل كنيسة أو دير أو معبد حيث كانت هذه المقاطعة يسكنها الحكام والأغنياء ... ولكن الغريب في الأمر صعوبة ومشقة الوصول إلى تلك المعابد ... ما أدهشني في هذا الموضوع هو الفن المعماري في تلك المباني .. إليكم الصـــور