Three metre tall cats form an avenue leading to the temple. |
The distance inside the row is 3m, between the rows 5m. |
You often find more than 20 sturgeons circling among the statues. |
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Some of these likable fellows are up to 2m long. |
The these huge fish look and move a bit like sharks. |
Sturgeons have a sucking mouth and are harmless. |
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If you remain calm they aren't shy at all. |
From a short distance they can be observed easily. |
Whoever touches or chases them will be banned from diving here. |
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Chasing them is not necessary, since they come by themselves. |
You can enjoy the peaceful contact with these large fish... |
...and have enough time to take pictures of them - but without the flash! |
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A sculptor molded the negatives of the cat statues in sand. |
Each statue is therefore a carefully crafted, unique piece. |
Then special concrete was poured into the molds. |
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When they had hardened they were taken out of their sand bed... |
...and brought to the bottom of the lake, where they were set up. |
Today they stand on the temple's base that looks like a flagstone path. |
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The reason: In the beginning the ground water pressure was spread over 3000m². When the rock walls were built pressure was concentrated on the last 200m² |
After several pumps failed, the water pushed the concrete slab upward within a few hours and caused the aiming rod to lean. |
Although we quickly brought the situation under control, cracks remained in the concrete. In order to spread the load more evenly, the concrete slab was reinforced. |
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With the right lighting the scenery took on a mythical aura. |
But the temple area has disappeared under the rising water. |
By now the temple can only be visited by divers. |