Potala
Palace
 The
Potala Palace, of course is a must. Its
gold roofs are visible all over Lhasa, but
most notably from the roof of the Jokhang.
It's easy to see why the first Western visitors
to Tibet were utterly enchanted with Lhasa.
The sense of achievement at having finally
attained this remote city, even by airplane,
is still very real. Lhasa sits in a huge
crater formed by mountains surrounding it
on all sides. In the middle sits the Potala,
itself atop its own sizeable hill. In front
of it spreads the city and the Kyichu river.
Behind it a veritable tapestry of fields
and flowers spreads back to the mountains.
A more picturesque scene could scarcely
be imagined.
The Potala is the official residence
of the Dalai Lama, Buddhism's highest ranking
priest. He is believed to be both a living
god and an incarnation of all previous Dalai
Lamas. Construction of the Potala Palace
was begun by the 5th Dalai Lama, but it
was not completed by the time of his death,
in 1682. His regent concealed his death
whilst the new Dalai was found [there is
an elaborate process involved in locating
the new Dalai upon the death of the previous
incarnation]. The regent also knew that
the workers would never have the heart to
complete their work if they knew their beloved
leader to be dead, so the regent convinced
the entire country that the Dalai had merely
gone on a lengthy spiritual retreat for
some 20 years, while the new Dalai was raised
to adulthood. The Potala contains treasures
unimaginable, although it is unfortunate
that very little of it is open to the public
today. The Tomb of the Fifth Dalai Lama
is within the Potala. It is three storeys
high, and made of 3,700kg of gold. A multi-tiered
model of a palace resembling a wedding cake,
and made of over a quarter of a million
pearls, is staggering to behold.
Allow a couple of hours to see
the Potala. Much of it is closed to visitors
and photography is STRICTLY prohibited.
|
