The Jetavanaramaya Stupa was impressive. Built during the third
century by Mahasena, historians estimate the structure initially
topped 120 metres, but today it barely measures 70 metres. At the
time of construction, Jetavanaramaya was certainly the third-tallest
monument globally, the first two being the Egyptian pyramids. It’s
said to consist of more than 90 million bricks. A British guidebook
from the early 1900s calculated Jetavanaramaya to contain enough
bricks to make a three-meter-high wall stretching from London to
Edinburgh.
The area was captivating and appeared overgrown and overrun by
monkeys. People, nevertheless, still lived in the city, and the old
temples are still in use today. The most famous is the sacred Bodhi
tree (mentioned above). The tree is said to be the oldest plant in the
world with a known planting date. However, the tree itself was
unimpressive. Much like the famous Mona Lisa, I envisaged it much
larger. Instead, the tree was rather scrawny.