καιρός remembered

Tashilhunpo Thanka

Tashilhunpo in Shigatse is the largest monastery in Tibet and the seat of the Panchen Lamas. The complex comprises various monuments with golden roofs and a large number of chapels filled with statues and adorned with murals, thangkas and other treasures.

For 362 days a year, this monastic town does not look exactly as it does in the photograph. On those 362 days, you see a large, empty white wall on the mountainside to the right. Like a giant projection screen at an open-air cinema. Just once a year, during a three-day festival in July, an image appears on the wall when a huge thanka is unrolled and displayed to the public.
Days to look forward to.

Photo of the week: Tashilhunpo Monastery, Shigatse, China-Tibet, July 1996