Gyeongju, South Korea - Tumuli Park Exit

We finally all gathered to wait outside the park gate for the bus.

Gyeongju, South Korea - The Heavenly Horse Tomb

Updated note added at the bottom:
A tumulus (plural is tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves.  If you haven't heard of these, go to wikipedia.org and look up the word.  The amazing part is that these were built globally, even in Moundsville, West Virginia.  I will forever look suspiciously at a mound.

Today we are among the burial mounds of the Silla kings in Korea.

Gyeongju, South Korea - A Walk in Tumuli Park

This area is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  From whc.unesco.org

The Gyeongju Historic Areas contain a remarkable concentration of outstanding examples of Korean Buddhist art, in the form of sculptures, reliefs, pagodas, and the remains of temples and palaces from the flowering, in particular between the 7th and 10th centuries, of this form of unique artistic expression.

This is the Tumuli Park, in the Tululi Park Belt.  It consists of three groups of Royal Tombs.  Most of the mounds are domed, but some are half-moon or gourd.  These contain double wooden coffins, covered with gravel.  Excavations have found rich graves of goods of gold, glass, and fine ceramics.

Gyeongju, South Korea - Grand Finale at Commodore Hotel

I saw this and wanted fans...

Gyeongju, South Korea - Grand Show at Commodore Hotel

Mesmerizing.  Couldn't stop taking photos!  Here is a view of the first half of the show.  Beautiful dancers.

Gyeongju, South Korea - Grand Lunch at Commodore Hotel

We stopped for lunch at the Commodore Hotel at 410-2 Shinpyeong-Dong, Gyeongju, Korea.

Busan, South Korea - Kyongju Folk's Hand Craft Village

We had one more stop to fit in. This is a large gift shop. Nice things!

Jinheon-dong, South Korea - Bulguksa Temple

We left the temple area and had some free time to go to the gift shop and walk back to the bus.  This is the gift shop.

Jinheon-dong, South Korea - Bulguksa Temple Sarira Pagoda and Lucky Stones

The Sarira pagoda looks like a stone lantern.  This was taken by Japan in 1906 but was returned in 1933.  It is from the Goryeo Dynasty, but shows the influene of the Silla Dynasty art.

Jinheon-dong, South Korea - Bulguksa Temple - Vairocana

We climbed a level and then there were more steps to the Birojeon (Hall of Vairocana)

Jinheon-dong, South Korea - Bulguksa Temple - Daeungjeon Main Hall

The eaves are incredible and fascinated me, as you can tell from all of the photos.  I began to feel motivated to make my eaves a little fancier at home!

Jinheon-dong, South Korea - Bulguksa Temple - Four Heavenly Kings Gate

Updated from earlier post!
The walkway was lined with brightly colored lotus lanterns. The lanterns cover the entire temple throughout the month and often spill down the street (as we saw in earlier posts). Each lantern had a Buddha child with a finger pointing up and one pointing down.

Jinheon-dong, South Korea - Bulguksa Temple Entrance

A large engraved boulder shows that this site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995.  The site is the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and encompasses seven National Treasures of South Korea.  The temple is classified as Historic and Scenic Site No. 1 by the South Korean Government.

Jinheon-dong, Daegu, South Korea - Town Drive

Dalseo District (Dalseo-gu) is a district in western Daegu, South Korea. It borders Dalseong-gun on the north, south, and west, and Seo-gu and Nam-gu on the east. It has a population of about 610,000, and an area of 62.27 square kilometers. The population rose dramatically in the 1990s, and has been approximately level since 2000.

We are traveling in a subdivision of the Dalseo District called Jincheon-dong.

This statue is a rider on horseback.  I have another photo of it from the other side that we will see as we exit.

Busan, South Korea - Freeway Views

Here is more of the scenery along the freeway as we made our way from Busan to the first temple.

Busan, South Korea - Highrises and Farms

Tall apartment complexes are part of the planned growth.

Busan, South Korea - Welcome to Yeongdo

Yeongdo District is a gu in Busan, South Korea.  A gu? That is a "district".

Busan, South Korea - Harbor Area

Our shiny tour coaches (NEVER call them buses) were waiting for us as we walked off the ship and followed our guide.

Busan, South Korea - Harbor Views

The shipped pulled in to the Busan harbor in the morning. My tour wasn't leaving for an hour so I had time to stand out on the deck and take a few photos.

Busan, South Korea - Tour Overview

This is a summary of the day.  The posts following detail the day.

The sail in was interesting in that we could see new tall apartment complexes in the areas of smaller one and two story homes.  The ship docked at Busan and I boarded the bus for my long day in South Korea.  We drove through the city and headed along the highway to Gyeong-ju, the old capital of the Silla Dynasty.  The capital is designated one of the world’s 10 most significant historic sites by UNESCO, and I was excited to see it all.