Vancouver Banshee: Indonesia -- Day 11 Mother Temple of Besaikh

After visiting the Klungkung Courts of Justice we continued on down to the road to

the Mother Temple of Besaikh. The temple dates back to the fourteenth century.

rice terraces
Bali, Indonesia

Jackfruit
Bali, Indonesia

Sarong and souvenier shop
Bali, Indonesia

Restaurant
Bali, Indonesia

Besaikh Temple,
Bali, Indonesia

From Wikipedia:

The Mother Temple of Besakih, or Pura Besakih, in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Agama Hindu Dharma in Bali, Indonesia, and one of a series of Balinese temples.

Besaikh Temple,
Bali, Indonesia

From Wikipedia:

This Mother Temple is actually a complex made up of twenty-two temples that sit on parallel ridges. It has stepped terraces and flights of stairs which ascend to a number of courtyards and brick gateways that in turn lead up to the main spire or Meru structure, which is called Pura Penataran Agung. All this is aligned along a single axis and designed to lead the spiritual person upward and closer to the mountain which is considered sacred.

The main sanctuary of the complex is the Pura Penataran Agung. The symbolic center of the main sanctuary is the lotus throne or padmasana, which is therefore the ritual focus of the entire complex. It dates to around the seventeenth century.

A series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people also threatened Puru Besakih. The lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected