Rock Steady

Sigiriya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya is the site of an ancient palace from 500AD. The prince Kassapa, born to non royal blood, imprisoned (and later killed) his father and seized the throne. His younger brother, the rightful heir, fled to India to plot his return. The palace was built on the top of the rock with various defences including a moat that could flood surrounding land to hinder invaders; for some reason Kassapa left his impenetrable fortress to fight has younger brother and was vanquished. There are 3 gardens leading up to the main rock including a water garden, terraced garden and a boulder garden.
Whist in Kandy we met a Scottish guy called Will who is in Sri Lanka for 3 months to teach kids English. We decided against hiring a proper guide and amused ourselves by fighting over what the exact history of Sigiriya was; we'd all read the guide book but my memory for facts and dates leaves something to be desired.
The king apparently had at least 50 concubines to tend to his every need. These ladies pictures have graced the walls of the rock for the last 1500 years.
This is the lion's entrance at the foot of the last part of the climb, so called because a lion's head was erected at the top of the rock (no longer present) with the lion's claws at the bottom either side of the steps. There was a sign asking you to take either a bag of sand or a brick to the top where they are rebuilding some of the palace walls. You can see why the rock made an ideal natural fortress (as long as you don't run out of supplies). Sigiriya is supposed to be on a par with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but as they no longer exist it's a hard one to argue. This lake, now filled by rain water, was originally filled with water pumped up from ground level. There are various pipes and valves running under the ground and a ram pump (few moving parts/noisy but simple) is believed to have been used to force the water up to the top of the rock.
Room with a view.