An ancestral culture, with its temples and ancient cities, suffered an earthquake on April 25, 2015 that destroyed much of its cultural heritage. In this article I share in photos and I relate my experience, in that mystical corner of the world.
A couple of decades ago, I was traveling for a few months through Nepal, a country very distant in kilometers and customs from our western philosophy. The slides that I took in its capital Kathmandu reflect the striking architecture of a city in which little more than a million people live. Today, that humble country is fresh in its memory and in its streets, the grade 8 earthquake that it suffered on April 25, 2015, which later replicated in May of the same year. It caused thousands of deaths, the destruction of houses and the architectural heritage of many of its ancient cities, which had been declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

I share photos of this trip with you so that you can see through your screen, many things that you will no longer be able to see live. Although they are rebuilding a lot, what was will no longer be, it will be something new. Without doubting, what stands out in this situation is the will to resurface and continue being despite the hardships, the Nepalese are a people full of patience and they have all the time in the world in their favor.

In the Kathmandu Valley there are about 2,500 temples and shrines, not all of which were destroyed by the earthquake and are a demonstration of the skill and aesthetic sense of the Newars people who have inhabited the region since prehistoric times. The decorative concept of its artisans left a mark on world architecture between the 12th and 18th centuries. The elements they used for construction were fine brick and wood, which they carved exquisitely. Thus they built houses, temples, stupas (Buddhist temples), priestly houses, palaces and monastic courtyards.

The construction that stands out throughout the valley are the multi-roofed pagodas, originally from the Kathmandu Valley. Then over the centuries, they were adapted to other Asian countries, such as Japan and China.
Most of the main monuments are located in the Durbar squares of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Of which 7 were recognized by UNESCO as cultural heritage of humanity.
Newars practice both Hinduism and Buddhism and in the 2001 census 84% of Newars confirmed to be Hindu and 15% Buddhist. According to some historians and believers, Buddha was born in Lumbini, a Nepalese town bordering India.

Stupas symbolize the path to enlightenment. The one in Budhanath, 10 km from Kathmandu, is the largest in Nepal and one of the largest in the world, it is surrounded by centuries-old houses. In that sacred place I spent the Losar festival, the new year of this religion which is in February and they celebrate the birthday of Buddha. I felt that it was a trip back in time, it is not a temple to enter to pray, but they walk on the circular construction in a clockwise direction repeating mantras for hours or turning the portable prayer wheels, it also has hanging around the temple Hundreds of Buddhist flags that the wind moves and carry the prayers that are printed on them to the sky. It is difficult for me to interpret, an ancient culture that I do not know and without judging I was deeply struck by the people I saw doing, perhaps, penances that were of unbearable physical effort.

The eyes of the Buddha are painted on the four sides of the tower of the stupa and between them is painted the number one in Nepali that refers to unity. Above the eyes is represented the third eye, symbol of the wisdom fruit of introspection. The dozens of prayer wheels that are placed together one next to the other, surrounding the stupa and that each devotee turns again, again and again as they walk around, are carved with the best known mantra of Buddhism "Om Mani Padme Hum ”which means Compassion.