That said, it was a very interesting place to spend a bit of time. It was the capital of the Shilla Dynasty from 57 BC and for the next thousand years, at one time with a million citizens (it's got about a quarter of a million citizens now).
In Tumuli Park, in the center of town, there are many tumuli (singular: tumulus, meaning a mound of earth and stones over a grave). These tombs date from the 4th century and have unpronunciable names: Geumwanchong, Seobonchong, Bonghwadae, and Geumyeongchong. The largest of the tombs is 23 meters high (See the man in the center of the photo for scale.)
A video I saw later at the National Museum in Seoul explained that this double tomb was for a queen and king.
A few of the tombs had been excavated and many golden objects were found in them. One tomb, Cheonmachong, was excavated and reproduced so tourists to enter. This was a king's grave from the 5th century and many golden ornaments were buried with him. The construction of the tumulus was interesting. The coffin was wooden and the size of a small room. Over this coffin, many rocks were piled up creating a large mound on which grass eventually grew.
Photos weren't allowed inside the tomb, so while looking online for photos, I found a website with this informative description:
Large ancient tombs of kings and noblemen of the Silla Dynasty can be seen
around Gyeongju at the Daereung-won Tumuli Park. There are twenty-three
large
tombs located here; the most famous being Cheonmachong and
Hwangnamdaechong. In an excavation of the area in the 1970's, Cheonmachong was
discovered with a
painting of mounted horse. This painting is the only
discovered painting from
the Silla Era. You can also view the inside of
Cheonmachong. There are 11,526
remains and crowns of the king inside the
tomb demonstrating the lavish
lifestyle of the king. Another tourist
attraction is Hwangnamdaechong, which is
the largest ancient tomb. It houses
the bodies of both the king and queen and
has over 30 thousand relics and
gold accessories. The unique thing about
Hwangnamdaechong is that the
queen's tomb has more luxurious accessories. From
that researchers have
concluded that even the queen can have a high social
position before
marriage.
Just south of Tumuli Park was Wolseong Park with more tumuli
and Cheomseongdae Observatory. The observatory was built between 632 and 646. It has 12 stones at the base symbolizing each month of the year or zodiac figure; 30 layers of stones - one for each day of the lunar month; a total of 366 stones - one for each day of the year. The four sides of the base and top represent each season.
After seeing these tombs, I went back to the hostel to meet up with some new friends. We caught a bus to Bulguksa, a huge temple complex on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
I was so excited to see all the lotus plants in bloom while I was in Korea! (plenty more photos of lotus plants coming!) The lotus is a symbol of Buddhism (I don't know why) so I have seen many many representations of its flower, but never the real thing, until now!
More cairns
It began pouring as I finished seeing Bulguksa, a perfect time for a lunch break! In Korea, they use metal chopsticks and a spoon (in Japan they use wooden chopsticks but no spoon).
Meals come with a large assortment of side dishes of kimchi. This meal's side dishes included pickled gourd, pickled peppers, beans, pickled cabbage, fish cake, spinach and a couple more unidentifiable dishes.
After lunch I went on to Seokguram Grotto. It's in the mountains and was very misty after the day's rain. Here is the view from the overlook.
Back in Gyeongju late that afternoon, I went to the National Museum where I saw the Emille Bell. Its ringing can be heard for 3 kilometers. The story behind the bell is quite gruesome. The first time the bell was cast, it failed to ring. It was re-cast and struck again but it cracked. Then the head priest of the temple had a dream: the dragon spirit needed to be appeased by the sacrifice of a young girl who was born in the year, month, day and hour of the dragon. So such a girl was found and thrown into the molten metal. Sure enough, the next time the bell was cast, it rang. However, it rang with the sound of a child crying for its mother - "emi".
The design on the Emille Bell
Walking back to the hotel, I went by acres of lotus plants, all in bloom. The heavy rains earlier in the day had beaten up the blossoms a bit, but still the scenery was stunning.
I particularly like how rain water beads up on lotus leaves, looking like mercury. (In case you're wondering, lotus plants are not water lilies. Lotus leaves are a complete circle (no notch in them), and the leaves are above the surface of the water, not floating on the water.)
The next morning I had a couple of hours before my bus left Gyeongju, so I quickly visited the ice storage house and the palace.
The lintel above the icehouse door. I took this photo only because I could read the Chinese character for "ice" (the middle character). It's not much, but I get excited when I can read what a 4 year old Chinese or Japanese child can!
My last site in Gyeongju was Imhaejeon, an ancient palace. Actually the palace is long gone; it burnt down in 935. Many relics ended up in Anapji Pond and were rediscovered in superb condition in 1975 when the pond was drained for repair. Today, there is a only model of the palace on the site.
For more photos of Gyeongju
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