The Architecture of the Medical College on Chakpori, Lhasa

Fig. 25:
The ruin of the Medical College on Chakpori

Photo from south-west
Photograph by Heinrich Harrer
1982

Like Harrer’s photo from the opposite direction this is also revealing important details of the south- and west facades and of the adaption to the landscape. It is interesting to notice that Thangtong Gyalpo apparently did not cut anything off the top of the rock when building his tower. The tower must have been built directly on the existing rock, like for that matter the original top of Marpori, that can still be found inside the upper floors of Potala palace.

A close look at the top of the rock on the west facade reveals the faint trace of a horizontal slit in the wall from where something has poured down and discoloured the rock face below. With the knowledge of how these practical problems were solved in other monasteries like for example in Potala, it is not difficult to conclude that this were where the toilet was located, a location, which is entirely logical considering the layout of the different levels of the building.