Welll so I spent two days in Bhavnagar, a quaint little shithole on par with al-hudayda, Yemen, and Danang, Viet Nam, because an hour away was a Jain Temple complex atop a hill of 4000 steps. Sounded like fun to me. And it was. It takes two hours to climb and it was a very difficult climb. But it was amazing up there. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so most of the pictures suck. But you can get an idea of what it's like. The guide books say there are 900 temples. I don't know how they count "temple." To me, it seemed like no more than 80.
Okay, it doesn't look like a long walk but it is. I've run four marathons and this walk nearly killed me.
Jains worship 24 teachers. They make idols of them, and they look like this
There are two hilltops. This is one, photographed from the other.
I know this is culturally insensitive, but it reminded me of the Bad Witch's castle in Wizard of Oz.
So amazing.
They dress the idols. I don't know why.
I honestly expected to see flying monkeys.
Most the temples and idols are carved marble.
The hill is jammed with temples
Very nice details
Ebony and Ivory
Looking vaguely European
Most the temples are simple inside. This one had a nicely painted ceiling
If I had used the word shithole to describe something that had anything to do with Jainism, I would be happy to delete it. But since I didn't, I won't.
I said Bhavnagar is a shithole. and IT IS. it's a town about one hour by train from the Jain Temple Complex pictured here, and on the planet I live on, people are free to express their opinions about cities they visit. I've said it before and I'll now say it again. Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India IS A SHITHOLE.