free blog subject 2

Bagan

An amazing city

Why? What? Where?

In 2011 I travelled to Myanmar and when I visited Bagan I was astonished! Bagan is located at the Irrawaddy River almost in the middle of Birma. By the way there is a small village called Old-Bagan and a few kilometres to the south there is a small village New-Bagan because in 1988 the village was forcibly relocated. The Bagan I’m blogging about is the Bagan Archeological Zone (former the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan).

In Bagan you find the largest amount of Buddhistic temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world, many dating from the 11th until 13th century. All the buildings and ruins are considered sacred and Bagan is very significant for Buddhism as well as Birma itself.

UNESCO didn’t include Bagan on its World Heritage Site because they say some temples were rebuilt in an un-historic way. But when most of the site was damaged due to the earthquake in 1975 they helped with the restoration of mural paintings and some of the stupas.

Pagan

Bagan was founded in the mid 9th century. King Anawratha united Birma and thereby began the Pagan Empire with Pagan (now: Bagan) as capital. In the previous dynasty (Pyu era) there had already been Theravada Buddhism, but they coexisted with other religions. In the new dynasty Buddhism became the most important religion.

The majority of the buildings were built in the 11th to 13th century when the successors of the king tried to surpass each other by building more and more temples, monasteries, etc. Archaeologists think that 13,000 temples, stupas and monasteries once stood on this 42 sq km area. The stupas itself contain ancient architecture, mural paintings, rare frescoes and stone inscriptions. A lot of them used to be covered in gold like the current stupas.

Nats (nature spirits) can still be found in Burma

Bagan's importance ended in 1287 when the Kingdom was invaded by the Mongols, but by then the city had already deteriated. Only around 2,200 stupas have remained, in various states. Some of the larger stupas are well maintained, whereas others have crumbled down and are overgrown by grass.

When Marco Polo came upon Bagan he described it as: "gilded city alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sounds of monks' robes".

Recommended temples:

N.B. 'Swe' means gold in Birmese, so every temple that contains this syllable is either gold or has been gold e.g. Swezigon Pagoda, Swesandaw Pagoda

Ananda Temple (1105)- Bagan's holiest temple, built by the third king, Kyan-zit-tha in 1091. Ananda means "boundless wisdom". The temple contains four Buddhas facing the wind directions, which represent the four Buddhas who have gained Nirvana. (According to the Birmese Buddhism: after the fifth Buddha reaches Nirvana the world will end.)

Bapaya Pagoda (c. 850)-This lone golden stupa is part of  a unique temple complex by the river. This is the only stupa with such a vertical form, others are more round.

Dhammayangyi Temple (1167-1170)- Another temple complex, it was built by a crazyking; King Narathu, to atone for his sins (killing his father, brother, and wife). While building this temple he executed a bricklayer because the gaps between de stones were too wide. The temple is unfinished because the people abandoned their work after the king himself was murdered. For this reason rumors are spread about ghosts haunting the temple.

Gawdawpalin Temple, the temple in front, (1211-1235)- This is a combination of Burmese and Indian styles, this temple has a beautiful courtyard with a stupa and interesting bell hangers. 


Thatbyinnyu temple, white,  (c. 1150)- the tallest temple in Bagan (66 metres).

Thatabha Gate (c. 1020)- the only remaining part of the old walls.

Sulamani Temple (1183)-The temple is one of the most frequently visited temples in Bagan. It was built in 1183 by King Narapati sithu, and it shows many influences and similarities to other temples in Bagan.








Sulamani Temple was restored after the 1975 earthquake, and is rebuilt with brick and stone. Fortunately the frescoes in the interior of the temple are still undamaged. It was rebuilt in 1994.

Payathonzu Temple (c. 1200)- Literally: "Temple of Three Buddhas". It is unique because the temple actually consists of three temples connected through narrow passages. The interior of the temple contains frescoes. However, the temple was not completed. The temple is recently renovated, and there are three stupas added on top of the temple, which are slightly lighter in colour.

Htilominlo Temple (1218)-built during the reign of King Htilominlo. The temple is three floors tall, with a height of 46 metres, and built with red brick. It is also known for its stucco. On the first floor of the temple, there are four Buddhas that face each wind direction. The temple was damaged in the 1975 earthquake and again repaired.

Travelers advise:


When visiting Bagan remember to respect Buddha:

To get to Bagan you can go by plane, by bus, by boat or by train. In the rain season (which is around the summer holiday) I wouldn't advise to go by bus though. The boat takes you in 9 to 17 hours from Mandalay to Bagan.

In Bagan there are also different travelling options. There are mostly tiny dirt roads in this area, so renting a car is not the best option to explore the temples. You can also rent a horse. When I was in Bagan we rented bicycles; the ideal option. I recommend getting up early because in the morning the colour of the temples seems to be very different than in the afternoon (because the sun heats up the bricks they become red in the afternoon). If you are lucky and there is wind, then you see the mysterious atmosphere in the morning (upper panorama picture).

A nice option is travelling with a hot air balloon. The only drawback is that they don't operate in the summer because of the raining season.

If you are not that adventurous but you are still interested in the atmosphere of the city (and you're Dutch), I recommend the book 'Nachttrein naar Mandalay' by Cees Nooteboom.