More Gyeongju

We started today early in order to avoid more excessive heat and humidity. First, we visited the Bunhwangsa temple. It was a stone structure with three tiers where people used to, and still come to pray. Like most other religious sites in Gyeongju, there was a large bell used by the monks. Off to the side at this particular site was a more traditional looking shrine with a Buddha. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take photos of this.

When we finished exploring Bunhwangsa temple, we went to Daereungwon Tombs Park. Colossal mounds of rocks covered completely in grass lead us to an excavated tomb. These tombs were burial sites of the 56 kings and three queens. Where we went, only some of the tombs were featured. Other tombs are scattered all over the city Gyeongju. Inside the tomb, there was an inner coffin surrounded by a large outer coffin of wood, tall enough that you could stand if there was no glass preventing that. Rocks encased the coffin very high up, all concealed by grass.
After the tombs, we visited Cheomseongdae Observatory. The was built by the first queen of Korea, who was supposedly very famous. Sunghee translated a long explanation of the possible functions of the place. The most believed function was an observatory of the stars and weather.

As the day got hotter and humid, we decided to go somewhere cooler, so we visited a museum of Neolithic and Bronze Age Korea, at the time called Shina. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any photos. The museum mostly showcased pottery and armour. We were so tired, we did not even visit all the museum buildings. We returned to our hotel, and once again watched the only program available in English. This time we were lucky and watched Transformers almost from the beginning.