Picture of Oldest astrological observatory of the Far East at night: Cheomseongdae (Gyeongju, South Korea)

Cheomseongdae astrological observatory at night

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Once the proud and famous capital of the Silla kingdom, Gyeongju now is a medium-sized town in south eastern Korea littered with reminders of its rich cultural history.
As a sign of the advanced development of the city, Gyeongju houses the oldest astrological observatory of the Far East. An elegant, bottle-shaped stone tower full of symbolism in the number of stones used and the the amount of layers, Cheomseongdae is very appealing; so much so, in fact, that I visited again when darkness had already fallen. Well-lit, the observatory takes on a completely different appearance. It is just unfortunate that it is not possible to enter the 7th century structure. Another sight in Gyeongju is Anapji Pond, not far from the observatory. Once part of the palace complex of the Silla royal family, it is a man-made pond allowing birds to come and rest in the water. Many ancient relics were discovered when the pond was drained some 1000 years after a fire destroyed much of the buildings surrounding the pond. I stayed until after sunset, when the pond took on a completely new atmosphere, with the silhouettes of the buildings reflected in it.
Read more about: Gyeongju

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