Bagan (formerly Pagan)
Bagan, the country’s most classic sight,
is a city of 3,000 pagodas on the Bagan Plains
and is one of South East Asia’s greatest
archaeological treasures. It was described
by Marco Polo as ‘one of the finest
sights in the world’.
Bagan has been a settlement area since the
2nd century. Bordered by the Irrawaddy River,
this was Burma’s hugely wealthy, 13th
century capital. Between Anawrahta’s
conquest of Thaton in 1057 and Kublai Khan’s
invasion in 1287 there were in excess of
13,000 temples. It was a tradition by royalty
and noblemen to build temples to earn merit
for the next life. The 11th to 13th century
shrines, over an area of 42 sq km are the
only remains of a once enormous city.
Some temples are still in use whilst others
display old murals and interiors or have
balconies affording stunning views on the
plains below so are frequented by visitors
to watch the sunset. Despite the vast amount
of history and heritage Bagan has yet to
make it to the list of Unesco World Heritage
sites which is probably due to the fact that
many of the temples and stupas have been
sponsored for a rebuild rather than being
renovated. The white plaques, resembling
gravestones, indicate the sponsor but rather
spoil the character of the stupas.
Bagan is also known for its quality lacquer
ware.
Shwegugy temple
A small temple, standing on a brick plinth,
built in 1131, it is an example of Bagan’s
middle period of temple building. There's
a steep internal staircase to the upper level
where you can see the view over Bagan.
Htilominlo temple
Built in 1211 AD and standing at 50m high,
it is one of the largest temples. It’s
a double storied red-brick structure with
plaster carvings on the arch pediments, frieze
and pilaster. Inside, 4 buddhas face the
cardinal points on each level.
Gubyaukgyi at Wetkgy
This 13th century temple has a spire resembling the
Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in India. It
is known for its wall paintings depicting
scenes from the Jatakas (life stories of
Buddha).
Shwezigon Pagoda
Finished in 1087 this is the prototype for
generations of pagodas. It has green glazed
plaques depicting scenes from the Jatakas
and is said to house important relics of
Gautama Buddha – 2 bones and a copy
of a tooth. A pagoda festival is held here
from late October to mid November.
Ananda Temple and Monastery
Finished in 1091, one of the great temples
in Bagan, it is distinguished from the rest
by its whitewash and shape like a Greek cross.
It has with four huge wooden standing Buddha
images arranged around its interior gallery.
Sulamuni Temple
The most important temple of the late period
(1170-1300), it is known as the ‘Crowning
jewel’ or ‘ruby’. It features brickwork and stone in both load-bearing
areas as well as the corners. The interior
was once painted with frescos, although very
faint today.
Thatbyinnyu Temple
With a height of 66 meters, the Thatbyinnyu
Pagoda is one of the highest monuments of
Bagan. After the single storey pagoda's
built during the early period like the Shwezigon
pagoda, the Thatbyinnyu, built in the 12th
century, is one of the first two storey structures
built in Bagan.
Gu Ni Temple
A two storey red brick pagoda with internal
staircase. We climbed to the first floor
to watch the sunset over Bagan.
Lacquerware workshop
During the day we stopped off at a lacquerware
workshop and the owner told us how the laquerware
was made.
