Every king of Myanmar founded his own capital. Mandalay was the last royal capital, founded in 1857. In the center is a huge square palace area, 2 km (1.2 miles) on a side, surrounded by a wall and a moat. There are four bridges across the moat, in the center of each side of the square. During World War II, it was occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 - 1944. Most of the palace was destroyed, only one building, which had been moved out of the palace area before the war, survived. It is a beautiful wooden building with intricate wood carvings. It is the Golden Palace Monastery, built in 1857.
Mandalay has the largest book in the world. It is located in the Ku Tho Daw (Kuthodaw) pagoda. It consists of 730 leaves (1460 pages), with the Tipitaka Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism inscribed on them in gold. Each leaf is 107 cm (42") wide, 153 cm (60") tall, and 13 cm (5") thick, made of marble. It was built from 1860 - 1868. Each stone has 80 to 100 lines of inscription on each side in round Burmese script, chiseled out and originally filled in with gold ink. Each leaf is housed in its own building.
One of the largest monasteries in Myanmar is the Mahagandayone Monastery with some 1400 monks. Each day for lunch all monks assemble in long lines and slowly file into the dining areas. In total, Mandalay has some 150,000 monks.
One interesting building is a 2 km (1.2 miles) long wooden bridge made of teak.
Just outside of Mandalay on the other side of the river are the Mingun Pagoda, the Mingun Bell, and the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda, three very interesting buildings.
Traffic is heavy, just like any big city. It is mostly motorcycle traffic. Mandalay has much fewer traffic lights than you would expect.
View of Sagaing Hills outside Mandalay. (804k) View of Sagaing Hills outside Mandalay. (765k) View of a temple in Sagaing Hills. (877k) Lion statues guarding the entrance to a temple. (682k) Small stupa in Mandalay. (1179k) View of the U Bein Bridge. (668k) Sunset over Mandalay. (611k) Sunset over Mandalay. (605k) Nothing is free for foreigners. (927k)
Mahamuni Pagoda (Gold Leaf Pagoda)
The center piece of the Mahamuni Pagoda is the Buddha statue covered with gold leaf. Only men are allowed to apply gold leaf to the Buddha statue. According to legend, the origins of the statue go back to the lifetime of Buddha. It is one of only five statues made of Buddha during his lifetime. Now the pagoda is part of the Mahamuni monastery, a teaching monastery with about 400 monks/students.
Pagoda in the Mahamuni monastery. (742k) Large statues in Thai style, war trophy from Thailand. (959k) Large statue in Thai style, war trophy from Thailand. (904k) Large bronze statues in the Mahamuni monastery. They are believed to have healing powers when rubbed. They were originally Khmer statues, found at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. (768k) Large bronze statue in the Mahamuni monastery. (908k) Large bronze statues in the Mahamuni monastery. (903k) Large bronze statue of a three-headed elephant in the Mahamuni monastery. (724k) Description of the history of the bronze statues. (901k) Ceremonial bell in the Mahamuni monastery. (880k) View of the Buddha statue in the Mahamuni Pagoda, with several men applying gold leaf. (1025k) Close-up of the Gold-leaf Buddha statue with worshipers applying gold leaf. (1119k) Development of the gold leaf cover of the Buddha statue. (824k) Development of the gold leaf cover of the Buddha statue. (1038k)
Mahagandayone Monastery
The Mahagandayone Monastery is one of the largest in Myanmar with about 1400 monks. The daily lunch ritual is watched everyday by hordes of tourists (including me during my visit).
Most workers in the monastery donate their time to the monastery, including the kitchen staff and contractors.
Water jars in the monastery. (727k) Building tables in the monastery. (865k) Drinking water station in the monastery. (700k) In the monastery kitchen. (950k) In the monastery kitchen. (790k) Preparing the midday meal in the monastery. (986k) Novices lined up to go to the midday meal. (664k) Monks lined up to go to the midday meal. (878k) Monks lined up to go to the midday meal. (802k) Monks lined up to go to the midday meal. (605k) Novice waiting for the midday meal. (531k) Monk waiting for the midday meal. (624k) Monk waiting for the midday meal. (565k) Dining hall in the monastery. (789k) List of donors to the monastery. (914k)
U Min Thonze Pagoda, Sagaing Hills
A large pagoda complex in Sagaing Hills, dating from 1364.
Outside U Min Thonze pagoda. (786k) Outside U Min Thonze pagoda. (767k) Details of the pagoda with Buddhist flag. (654k) Inside the U Min Thonze Pagoda. (1052k) One of the Buddha statues with the Bhumisparsha Mudra in the U Min Thonze pagoda. (1081k) Buddha statue with the Dharmachakra Mudra in the U Min Thonze pagoda. (989k) Buddha statue with the Bhumisparsha Mudra in the U Min Thonze pagoda. (1104k) Buddha statue with the Bhumisparsha Mudra in the U Min Thonze pagoda. (1437k) Close-up of the Buddha statue in the U Min Thonze pagoda. (1248k) U Min Thonze Pagoda. (756k) Umbrella on top of the U Min Thonze Pagoda. (617k)
Soon Oo Pone Shin Pagoda, Sagaing Hills
A large pagoda complex with in Sagaing Hills, dating from 1315.
Decorated doorway in the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (805k) Building in the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (699k) Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (749k) Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (756k) Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (720k) Umbrella on top of the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (687k) Buddha statue with the Bhumisparsha Mudra in the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (1124k) Buddha statue in the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda with flashing lights. (1047k) Buddha statue with the Bhumisparsha Mudra in the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda. (1261k) Buddha statue with the Bhumisparsha Mudra in the Soon Oo Pone Shin pagoda with worshiping monk. (974k) The cable car brings donated gold leaf to the pagoda, where it is used to gold plate the top of the pagoda. (1094k)
Mingun Pagoda and Bell
View of the unfinished Mingun Pagoda, showing damage from the earthquake. (1042k) Large crack in the Mingun Pagoda. (837k) One of the entrance doors to the Mingun Pagoda. (1114k) View of the Mingun Pagoda from the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda. (533k) Wall around the Mingun Pagoda with decorated drains. (973k) Full view of the Mingun Bell. (768k) Support of the Mingun Bell. (754k) Close-up of the Support of the Mingun Bell. (797k)
Mya Thein Tan Pagoda
Lion guarding the way to the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda. (960k) View of the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda. (612k) View of the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda. (668k) On the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda. (637k) Detail on the Mya Thein Tan Pagoda. (692k)
Ku Tho Daw (Kuthodaw) pagoda
View of some of the small pagodas that house the individual leaves of the book. (1175k) View of some of the small pagodas that house the individual leaves of the book. (679k) View of some of the small pagodas that house the individual leaves of the book. (738k) One of the pages. (958k)
Mandalay Palace
Model of the palace area. (869k) The Moat around the palace with Sagaing Hill in the background. (635k) View of the palace area. (821k) View of the largest palace building. (920k) Display canon in the palace. (1194k) Smaller palace buildings. (936k) Larger palace buildings. (733k) Palace buildings. (789k) Close-up of one of the palace buildings. (764k) One of the largest of the palace buildings. (734k) Tower in the palace area. (559k) Statues of the last royal couple. (877k) Golden Palace Monastery. (999k) Wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (1249k) Wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (1269k) Wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (928k) Wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (599k) Wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (966k) Wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (985k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (1110k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (1214k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (943k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (933k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (866k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (909k) Details of the wood carvings on the Golden Palace Monastery. (758k) Inside the Golden Palace Monastery. (868k)
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