As I head back towards my hotel after a long tiring afternoon walk, I pass by this famous Silla relic called the Cheomseongdae - An Astronomical Observatory.
It's impressive resume says it is:
- a stone tower well known as the oldest existing astral observatory in Asia, constructed during the reign of Queen Seon-Deok (632-647 AD)
- designated as National Treasure #31
- about 9 meters in height and looks like a round bottle
- made by laying 27 stones in a neat pile on the square foundation stone and by putting a square stone on the piles like a lid and has a window 1 meter in length and height toward the south
- etc, etc.
This architecture is "highly valued for the beauty of an elegant curve and the exquisite harmony between a square and a circle."
The funny thing is that after saying all those great stuff, nobody actually knows how it works. Could well be a brick kiln to me!
