Our ancient city tour included 12 stops! Yes, we saw many beautiful and historically significant sites throughout the day. Previous posts featured the monasteries, artisans, and bridge we visited. This final Myanmar post highlights five pagodas we explored in the afternoon with our guide Go Pa.

Mya Thein Dan Pagoda – The origin of this large, very photographic pagoda is a sad stay. It was built in the early 19th century, shortly after the first wife of King Bagydaw died in childbirth. The temple was a memorial to his young wife and a way for him to show his devotion to her, even in death. To fund the construction, the king used 100,000 emeralds, resulting in the name Mya (emeralds) Thein Tan (100,000). Our guide explained the symbolism of the temple’s design, which varied dramatically from typical Burmese pagodas. The seven terraces with wave-like ornamentation represent seven rivers and the seven peaks that rise up to Mount Meru, the sacred mountain at the center of the Buddhist universe. During our visit two novice monks with parasols willingly posed for photos, resulting in pictures that captured the stark contrast between the white temple features and the saffron robes.

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Pahto Daw Gyi Pagoda – Construction for this pagoda in the ancient city of Mingun began in 1799 and stopped 20 years later when King Bodawpaya died. Go Pa told us that only the outer terraces and huge base (equivalent to 1/3 the planned height of 150 meters) had been completed by 1819. So, it was easy for us to see that the building would have been enormous and impressive. The completed portion suffered major, visible damage in an 1839 earthquake and subsequent tremors, but it is still mostly upright. 

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Across the street from the pagoda stand two partial statues of gigantic dragon lions facing towards the river and guarding what was the main entrance in the 19th century. Go Pa kindly held a 500 kyat, Myanmar currency, so we could photographically display in one image the statue and what it should have looked like many years ago.

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Swam Oo Ponnya Shin Pagoda – Like many of the other Mandalay area pagodas we visited, this one also includes a large gold stupa. We discovered that looking for unique features of each pagoda helped lesson our confusion and keep up our interest. Here is a short list of noteworthy attributes of Swam Oo in the ancient city of Sagaing: 1) Swam means cooked rice. The word was added to the pagoda’s name because of the belief that a worshipper can never be the first in the early morning to offer food to Buddha, regardless of how much he or she may try. Cooked rice always mysteriously appears before his or her visit. 2) According to legend, this pagoda grants 14 wishes to pilgrims, such as gaining insights into future events, getting promoted, and not being murdered. Hopefully the last wish in the list isn’t necessary too often. 3) The pagoda floor includes many geometric patterns of small, colorful tiles around the stupa. 

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U Min Thonze Caves – Even though the name means thirty caves, the temple is not in a cave and we didn’t see or hear of any caves in the area. It is, however, partially built into a hillside. When we entered the beautiful crescent-shaped temple we found 45 gold Buddha images, representing the 45 years of Buddhist teachings and all in the same pose with similar (if not identical) facial expressions. Built in the ancient city of Sagaing by monk Padugyi Thangayaza in the 11th century, U Min Thonze Caves did not appear to be 1,000 years old because it is well maintained. 

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Yadana Hsemee Pagoda – This final pagoda definitely looked more than 500 years old because of damage from multiple earthquakes and deterioration due to weather. The roof collapsed completely so the large Buddha image sitting outdoors. Yadana means gem and we concluded that this pagoda is truly a hidden gem, as it is tucked away on peaceful farm land in the ancient city of Inwa. 

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