No pictures were allowed inside so I only have this not very exciting outside shot. It was a really busy day at the temple because it was Sri Lanka's National Day Holiday. This temple was originally built by the last king of Kandy who promised to build a temple in this area if he was able to find prosperity here. The local abundance of gemstones fulfilled his wish and he kept his promise by building Saman Devala. Later the Dutch destroyed much of the facility but it has been rebuilt and you can still see some of the ancient wall paintings that the temple is trying hard to preserve.
Also located in the main temple is a stone branch growing from a piece of a tree. The stone branch looks kind of like a vine and is growing up in the air. It's about one-half inch in diameter, perhaps 4' tall, and it is housed in a windowed case. The stone is so old that the growth is imperceptible in one human lifetime and only centuries of documentation validate this miracle.
We ate lunch with Ratnapura Rotarians Anusha, Fasmia, Sadith and Palitha and then said our goodbyes as we loaded into our van and headed to “the Cool Climes of Bandarawela” where we were greeted by a large contingency of RC Bandarawela.
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