One of the must
see cultural sites to witness is the Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay. A major pilgrimage stop for the devout, this
Buddhist complex was built in the late 18th century and is a
teaching monastery to roughly 400 monks of the Thudhamma Nikaya order. It is the second most revered shrine after
the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. Built by
King Bodawaya of the Konbaung Dynasty after the Mahamuni image was captured
during the invasion of the Arakan Kingdom this complex has many sites worth
seeing. The main attraction here is the
Mahamuni (meaning the Great Image) Buddha image, the most revered Buddha image
in the country due to it being one of only five likenesses of the historical
Buddha cast in his lifetime. Made of
bronze and weighing in at 6.5 tons it stands nearly 4 meters high.
The Mahamuni
Buddha is enshrined in a small chamber topped with a 7-tiered Pyatthat Burmese
style roof. To pay respect to the Buddha
you have to walk through a metal detector and then climb up to see the Buddha
seated on a throne. The posture of the
Buddha is known as the Bhumisparsa Mudra and the first thing you notice is the
amount of precious stones. The other
thing you notice is the amount of gold leaves placed all over the Buddha
statue. So many gold leaves have been
placed on it by the devotees that it’s almost 15 centimeters thick (6 inches)
and gave the Buddha a unique shape.
There are photos of what it looked like originally to see how it slowly
transformed over the years. Only men are
allowed to enter this area and the women can only pray outside of the room but
have a TV monitor to see inside.
There is also a
museum on the grounds that show the history of Buddhism and how it spread
across Asia. There are also numerous
bronze statues that were once a part of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Six of them are war spoils from the 15th
century. 2 of the bronze statues are
warriors and are believed to have healing qualities. Rubbing a particular part of the statue’s
body will cure ailments in the corresponding part of the sick person’s
body.
There is plenty
to see here since it’s quite large and a lot of work went into making the place
ornate. As you walk in you’ll be greeted
by dozens and dozens of vendors selling everything from Buddha images, incense,
flowers to gold leaves, etc…. The
complex is open from 6am to 8pm daily and the fee is roughly $4. Due to the popularity of this revered Buddha
image, expect large crowds, especially on Buddhist holidays. February is the busiest sine it holds a
festival there. Remember to remove your
shoes when entering and dress appropriately.
Another hidden
gem in this area is the Shwenandaw Monastery or Golden Palace Monastery. Located just a few meters from the Atumashi
Monastery and a few hundred meters from the Mandalay Palace this is probably
the most preserved teak building to survive WW2 bombardment. This masterpiece of Burmese carpentry and
architecture is renowned for its intricate carvings and attention to
detail. It got the name Golden Palace
Monastery, because it used to be part of the Mandalay Palace and was completely
gilded.
This structure
was built in Burmese architectural style and has a four tiered roof. There’s nothing to really say but the place
was decorated with intricate and meticulous woodcarvings. Look closely and
you’ll see carvings of animals, dancers, flowers, etc. The outer part of the Monastery has obviously
degraded the appearance but inside and away from the damaging sunlight you’ll
see that it’s in great condition.
The main room in
the center of the building holds the main attraction: a large Buddha image with
Nats (spirits) worshipping it. As with
the Mahamuni Pagoda’s rules, only men are allowed to go in and worship.
Remember to
leave your shoes at the entrance and dress appropriately when entering. You may want to use your wide-angle lens here
too. The Shwenandaw Monastery isn’t that
big and should take you less than an hour to see it at a comfortable pace.
The other
attraction in Mandalay to witness is the Su Taung Pyi Pagoda. It translates as the “wish granting” pagoda
and it’s on a landmark you can’t miss.
Sitting on top of Mandalay Hill this pagoda stands nearly 240 meters
(800 feet) above the city and offers great panoramic views and ideal for
sunrise and sunset pictures. King
Anawratha constructed it in the year 414 of the Myanmar Era. The cultural significance of this area was
due to the fact that when Buddha was visiting Myanmar with his disciple,
Ananda, they climbed Mandalay Hill and prophesized that a great city would be
founded below the hill 2,400 years after his death.
There are many
options to getting to the top. There are
covered paths called zaungdans that will take you there. The most popular path is the southern one and
at the entrance and you’ll be greeted by two large guardians that are a lion
& dragon hybrid (called chinthes) and you can’t miss them! The incline is steep and should take you
roughly 45 minutes to an hour to climb the 1,729 steps. You’ll definitely see the famous landmarks if
you take this route such as the U Khanti Tazaung, it’s a memorial hall built to
honor the monk who was instrumental in financing the magnificent shrines and
pagodas in the area. You’ll also see the
Shweyattaw Buddha too, the only statue of Buddha pointing in Myanmar. The Buddha’s finger is pointing in the
direction of the palace that King Mindon complete and thus fulfilling the
prophecy in 1857. The last attraction is
the statue of Sanda Mukhi, an ogress to whom Buddha told the prophecy to. If I had the time I would of walked it but it
was hot and I was running out of time since I wanted to catch the sunset so my
driver took me to the top and luckily they had escalators too.
Once you enter
the first thing you notice is how shiny everything is. The floors looked like they’ve been waxed on
the hour and there is a considerable amount of mirrors or reflective materials
placed on the exterior of the temple. You’ll
also see numerous monks and nuns walking around too. They are friendly and curious with westerners
and will try to practice their English with you. Since I’m Asian, they didn’t bother to try
and talk to me but saw them approaching many Anglo-looking visitors. A little sensory overload will occur here due
to the never-ending visuals. You can see
everything from up here and it offers a great perspective of the places I
visited earlier that day. I got there
about half an hour before the sun set and it was pretty quiet but lost a good
spot for a sunset pic because I decided to wander around and take photos.
This area also
has some history too because ferocious battles took place here during WW2 between
the Japanese forces and the British and Gurkha troops.
Remember that
this is a holy site and that shoes must be removed and to dress
appropriately.
The other
highlight in the Mandalay region you have to see is an UNESCO World Heritage
Site and locally referred to as the “World’s Largest Book”. King Mindon built the Kuthodaw Pagoda or
Royal Merit Pagoda at the same time the Royal Palace was built in the mid 19th
century. Located at the base of the
Mandalay Hill you can’t miss the 30-meter high (100 foot) zedi (stupa) reaching
for the sky. What is most impressive
about this site are the 729 slender, whitewashed ancillary pagodas, each
containing carved alabaster slabs inscribed with a page from the Tipitaka, the
Theravada Pali canon.
The inscriptions
were created to mark the 5th Buddhist Synod of 1871 and when
completed, took 2,400 monks six months to recite. King Mindon’s order of the “book” creation
took nearly 8 years to complete. The
texts were copied from ancient manuscripts writted on dried palm leaf, the
letters chiseled out of the stone and inlaid with gold leaf. Then each marble slab was enshrined in a
structure called Dhamma ceti or kyauksa gu in Burmese “gu” meaning cave. The placements of the shrines are perfectly
symmetrical and once you see the miniature model in the main entrance hallway
it gives you a better idea of how it was designed.
To enter this
huge complex you’ll be greeted by an extravagant gate adorned with sculptures
of deities and animals from Buddhist and Hindu mythology. You take a long corridor that leads to the
stupa at the center of the complex and you can see the ornate detail and
craftsmanship. The end of the corridor
will lead you to an image of a large Buddha and from there you’ll see the main
pagoda. Completed in 1859 it was modeled
after the Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan.
It’s a bell shaped stupa rests on a base of three squared receding
tiers. There are four corners of the pagoda
and a golden chinthe, a mythical lion and dragon hybrid guard each one.
I visited this
place after the Su Taung Pyi Pagoda in the evening after sunset so I didn’t
spend as much time here as I would like.
It’s definitely worth checking out and do give yourself at least an hour
and a half here to explore.
As always, it’s
best to have slippers in this area so you don’t have to spend so much time
taking off your shoes and socks. Dress
appropriately too. It’s open from
8am-8pm daily.
Happy
Traveling.
