S & E Asia 72 - Myanmar 12: Bagan 1 - Intro to Bagan + our attractive boutique hotel: Today we are starting our visit to the second site of our trip in Myanmar. While in our first site...

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S & E Asia 72 - Myanmar 12: Bagan 1 - Intro to Bagan + our attractive boutique hotel

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Mar 15, 2022 09:41:58 #

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Today we are starting our visit to the second site of our trip in Myanmar. While in our first site all locations were within the urban confines of the large city and former capital Yangon, in this second location we are very much out in the open, rather dusty and famously dry, earthquake-prone landscape of the "Plain of Bagan". There are two preeminent ancient religious cities in Southeast Asia: Bagan in Burma and Angkor in Cambodia. Both sites are notable for their expanse of sacred geography and the number and size of their individual temples. While the main temples at Angkor are much larger, for many visitors, Bagan is the more extraordinary site because of its wonderful views and the much larger number of structures. Scattered across a vast dusty plain may be seen scores of exotic Buddhist temples. The plain is skirted by hilly ranges and bisected by the great river Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady), Myanmar's signature river flowing from north to south for 2288 km/1422 miles, originating in southeast Tibet/China and emptying at the Irrawaddy Delta into the Andaman Sea at the northern periphery of the Indian Ocean. - In this first post I provide as usual an overview for Bagan, touching on its location and history.

The following is a substantially condensed introduction to Bagan from Wikipedia:

INTRODUCTION
Bagan (ပုဂံ) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 14,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 structures survive.

Bagan is the present-day standard Burmese pronunciation of the Burmese word Pugan, derived from Old Burmese Pukam. Its classical Pali (Indian liturgical language) name is Arimaddanapura (literally "The city that tramples on enemies"). Its other names in Pali are in reference to its extreme dry zone climate: Tattadesa ("Parched land") and Tampadīpa ("Bronzed country").

HISTORY
According to the Burmese chronicles, Bagan was founded in the second century AD, and fortified in 849 AD by King Pyinbya, 34th successor of the founder of early Bagan. Mainstream scholarship however holds that Bagan was founded in the mid-to-late 9th century by the Mranma (Burmans), who had recently entered the Irrawaddy valley from the Nanzhao Kingdom (in today's southern China). It was among several competing Pyu city-states until the late 10th century when the Burman settlement grew in authority and grandeur.

From 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve center of the Bagan Empire. Over the course of 250 years, Bagan's rulers and their wealthy subjects constructed over 14,000 religious monuments (approximately 1000 stupas, 10,000 small temples and 3000 monasteries) in an area of 104 square kilometres (40 sq mi) on the Bagan plains. The prosperous city grew in size and grandeur, and became a cosmopolitan center for religious and secular studies, specializing in Pali scholarship in grammar and philosophical-psychological studies as well as works in a variety of languages on phonology, grammar, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and legal studies. The city attracted monks and students from as far as India, Sri Lanka and the Khmer Empire.

The Pagan Empire collapsed in 1287 due to repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301). Recent research shows that Mongol armies may not have reached Bagan itself, and that even if they did, the damage they inflicted was probably minimal. However, the damage had already been done. The city, once home to some 50,000 to 200,000 people, had been reduced to a small town, never to regain its preeminence. The city formally ceased to be the capital of Burma in December 1297 when the Myinsaing Kingdom became the new power in Upper Burma.

Bagan survived into the 15th century a human settlement, and as a pilgrimage destination throughout the imperial period, but pilgrimage was focused only on a few prominent temples out of the thousands. The rest, thousands of less famous, out-of-the-way temples, fell into disrepair, and most did not survive the test of time. For the few dozen temples that were regularly patronized, the continued patronage meant regular upkeep as well as architectural additions donated by the devotees. Many temples were repainted with new frescoes on top of their original Pagan era ones, or fitted with new Buddha statutes. A series of state-sponsored renovations from 1752-1885 were not true to the original designs. The interiors of some temples were also whitewashed, and painted inscriptions and even murals were added

Bagan, located in an active earthquake zone, had suffered from many tremors over the ages, with over 400 recorded earthquakes between 1904 and 1975. A major earthquake occurred on 8 July 1975, damaging many temples severely and irreparably. Today, 2229 temples and pagodas remain.

GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE
The Bagan Archaeological Zone, defined as the 13 by 8 km (8.1 mi × 5.0 mi) area centered around Old Bagan lies in the vast expanse of plains in Upper Burma on the bend of the Irrawaddy river. It is located 290 km (180 mi) south-west of Mandalay and 700 km (430 mi) north of Yangon. Bagan lies in the middle of the "dry zone" of Burma. Unlike the coastal regions of the country, which receive annual monsoon rainfalls exceeding 2,500 mm (98 in), the dry zone gets little precipitation as it is sheltered from the rain by the Rakhine Yoma mountain range in the west.

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Besides the title image providing a first glance of the pagoda-studded plain, I will start today with a set of images presenting our comfortable and pleasant boutique hotel, its grounds and some adornments.

Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to THIS SERIES on SOUTH & EAST ASIA. See it at
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-724330-1.html

MYANMAR COUNTRY INFO in set # 61: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-731087-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thanks for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

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1 - Title page for Bagan on a view over the Plain of Bagan covered with old temples and pagodas