Bagan 2

Temples and Stupas

Seinnyet Ama Temple and Seinnyet Nima Stupa

A temple is a hollow structure for worship and meditation, having one or more doors. A stupa is a solid structure containing relics

Classier way to tour the monuments

Gawdawpalin

Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries it is the second tallest and one of the most imposing temples on Bagan's plain. It was close to the epicenter of the 1975 earthquake and sustained massive damage. The tower collapsed and large cracks appeared in the upper levels. There has been substantial rebuilding and strengthening of the structure. About 40% of its stucco mouldings survived

Htilominlo Pahto "Blessings Of The World" 1211AD

Determined to acquire relics and Tripitaka manuscripts held by the Mon, King Nanuha Anawrahtahe assembled his armies and marched on Lower Burma

Along with the relics and manuscripts the conqueror returned with their King and Queen and 30,000 Mon prisoners, many of them craftsmen. And so began the first Barmar Kingdom which was to leave the world with the amazing legacy of the temples of Bagan

Enough of the original ornate plaster work has survived the centuries to give us a good idea of the magnificence of the more imposing monuments and the skills handed down from those captured Mon craftsmen

A young artist plies his trade, a scholar has a snack and does his homework while his mother sets out her stall at the entrances to Htilominlo

The thanaka paste on his face is widely used by Burman women and children of both sexes. Made from the bark of the Murraya Paniculata tree, it cools the skin, tightens pores, controls oiliness acts as a sun block and it is claimed, prevents wrinkles and pimples! Women in the fields use a thick layer on face and arms. In the city it is used more as a decoration. It can also be used as a medicine for childhood coughs and colds

Gubyaukgyi at Myinkaba

Built in 1113, is noted for its wall paintings depicting the previous lives of the Buddha

Photographer Gerd Eichman 2010

Pyu style windows, letting in little light

Gubyaukgyi fresco of an elephant

Sulamani Pahto 1183

Calling the earth to witness the truth

Known as the Crowning Jewel, Sulamani was more than just a temple, it originally housed a 100 monks cells along its inner walls.

A Library lecture and ordination halls were a part of the complex

Ananda - Wisdom Of The Buddha

A masterpiece of Mon architecture. One of the earliest and arguably the most beautiful of the estimated 13,000 temples built on the Bagan plain between 1057 and 1287 when Bagan fell to the forces of Kublai Khan. Representing the endless wisdom of Buddha, Ananda was completed in 1091 for King Kyanzittha who is said to have personally executed the architect so it could not be duplicated

Earthquake damage has been painstakingly repaired and the beehive-like ‘sikhara’ crown and ‘hti’ umbrella, were gilded to mark the temple’s 900th anniversary in 1990. In 2002 and 2005 it was still possible to arrive at the height of the tourist season and find it's courtyard almost deserted

South facing Kassapa Buddha

West facing Gautama Buddha

Naturally illuminated corridor

Built into huge niches at the four cardinal points of Ananda are four towering gilded teak Buddha images some 30 ft high. The South facing statue is contemporaneous with the building as is the one to the North. Seven rows of arched niches displaying Buddha images adorn the passages for which the architects devised a perfect plan to allow in light and ventilation. Ananda Okkyaung Monastery within the compound is well worth a visit

Buddha flanked by Devas

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