Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades. Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction. (more...)

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

• ... that unlike other cuckoos, the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (pictured) does not lay its eggs in other birds' nests?
• ... that champion shooter Abhinav Bindra is the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at any Olympic Games?
• ... that the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team has won 1,950 games in 98 seasons and holds the record for consecutive 20-win seasons, with 31 seasons from 1970 through 2001?
• ... that French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac once lived in the house on the Moika River Embankment which now hosts the Consulate-General of France in Saint Petersburg?
• ... that Orthodera novaezealandiae is a praying mantis native only to New Zealand?
• ... that the roller ship was a steamship, raised above the water like a hydrofoil and moving on several large wheels?
• ... that the Creation Evidence Museum sponsors hunts for living pterodactyls in Papua New Guinea?
• ... that rising 600 feet above the surrounding plains, Double Mountain in Stonewall County, Texas is the most prominent point for 159 miles?
• ... that when Andy Stern challenged Richard Cordtz for the presidency of the SEIU labor union, Cordtz fired him for insubordination?
• ... that Horatio Nelson's first command in the Royal Navy was the brig HMS Badger?
• ... that a Western Hartebeest can run at speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph), making it one of the fastest antelopes?
  
  Archive – Start a new article...

• President of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa (pictured) dies after suffering a stroke weeks earlier.
• Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation as President of Pakistan.
• Michael Phelps wins his eighth gold medal of the 2008 Summer Olympics, surpassing Mark Spitz's record for most gold medals won at a single Olympics.
• Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins the Olympic gold medal in the 100-metre sprint, setting a new world record of 9.69 seconds.
• Maoist leader Prachanda is elected Prime Minister of Nepal, the first since the country's transition from a monarchy to a republic.
• Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf is appointed Prime Minister of Mauritania, following a coup d'etat.
• Russia calls an end to its military offensive in Georgia and agrees to a European Union plan for a ceasefire and peace talks, amid reports of more fighting around the city of Gori.
  Olympic highlights – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

August 20: St. Stephen's Day in Hungary

• 917 – Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I (seal pictured) drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Anchialus.
• 1794 – American troops defeated the Western Confederacy, a Native American alliance, at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the decisive battle of the Northwest Indian War.
• 1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition, exploring the Louisiana Purchase, suffered its only death when Sergeant Charles Floyd died, apparently from acute appendicitis.
• 1991 – Singing Revolution: Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1998 – The Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan was destroyed by a bombing attack launched by the United States in retaliation for the August 7 U.S. embassy bombings.

• More events: August 19 – August 20 – August 21

  Archive – By email – More anniversaries...
  It is now 03:11, August 20, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this page