Picture Story
Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is a tiny island known for its huge moai statues scattered all over the island.
It's not easy to get to as it sits out in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean but one I had wanted to travel to as the mysterious nature of the island fascinated me. It's a very small island so easy to get around either by renting a car or going on a tour.
I arrived on a cruise which was going to stay 2 days but I opted to stay in accommodation on the island so I could photograph both sunset and sunrise on different parts of the island. This area, Ahu Tongariki, benefits from sunrise from behind so I made certain I was there for that event.
Ahu Tongariki is the largest ceremonial structure built on Easter Island and the most important megalithic monument in all of Polynesia. It represents the zenith of the sacred constructions called ahu-moai that were developed in Rapa Nui for more than 500 years.
All the moai statues were carved in volcanic tuff from the quarries of the Rano Raraku volcano, located one kilometer northwest. Despite their relative closeness, it is still not explained how they were able to transport to Tongariki these huge giants that have an average weight of 40 tons.
The world is fascinated by the creation of these statues not only for their impressive size and quantity of them but also for the circumstances under which they were built. This small island had very limited resources; not much drinking water, no cattle and no metal. The statues were transported to their final location several kilometers across hilly terrain - all of this being accomplished with the highest leader being a tribal chieftain.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor