- Location: near the city of Chauk in the county of Magway
- Status: archaeological site, excavation in progress
- Area: 104 km²
- Foundation date: mid-to-late 9th century
South-East Asia contains many mysteries and beauties. Not developed in the tourist environment, the direction of rest in the Republic of Myanmar , nevertheless, has great popularity among archaeologists, historians and cultural experts. For many years now painstaking work has been carried out to study and restore the city of Pagan in a state better known as Burma. This will be our article.
The city of Pagan in Myanmar
The city of Pagan (otherwise Bagan) as such does not exist in our day. This is the ancient capital of the eponymous kingdom, located within the borders of the modern state of the Republic of Myanmar near Bagan airport. Geographically, Pagan is located on a dry plateau along the western bank of the Irrawaddy River. Territorially it is 145 km to the southwest of the city of Mandalay near the town of Chauk District of Magway. Once the city was a great center of science, culture and religion, but the invasion of the Mongols changed its course of development, and the city gradually emptied. Yes, and the earthquake in 1975 added destruction.
Today, the entire territory of the ancient city of Pagan, and this is about 40 square meters. km., is the most important archaeological zone of the region, more than two thousand ancient pagodas, stupas, temples and monasteries are brought to the surface and reconstructed, most of which were built in the XI-XII centuries. Pagan did not enter UNESCO World Heritage sites for political reasons. Despite this, Pagan is almost the main center of pilgrims throughout the South-Eastern region.
What is interesting about Pagan?
To begin with, the entire excavation area is a specially protected area, near which several villages are spread: We-chi Ying, Nyaung U, Myinkaba, Old Bagan. Inside the perimeter are scattered thousands of pagodas and stupas of different sizes, because of this the city of Pagan is often called the city of temples and chambers.
The most popular and special are stupas Shwezigon and Lokananda Chaun, they contain the teeth of the Buddha, the stupas themselves are gilded, they are led by good asphalted paths, and around there are many different shopping pavilions. Not all pagodas of yellow or red brick are gilded, but this is not generally affected by attendance. Residents of the nearest villages are crammed to the tourists in the guides, help to climb the stairs and walk along the corridors.
I must say that under the protection is every object of the archaeological zone, even very destroyed stupas and pagodas. Vandals pass without regrets the local police, alas, wishing to break off a piece of antiquity for memory a lot. Separately it is necessary to allocate local temples, they are easy to recognize in a symmetrical form, in each of them exactly four altars and statues of Buddha, holy relics and, let's say, caves - labyrinths of corridors decorated with frescoes. Note that the oldest frescos carry only two colors, while the later ones are colorful and multicolored. By the way, in all Pagan there are only 4 million images of Buddha images!
How to get to the city of Pagan?
Of course, the easiest way to reach Pagan is by rented car or taxi by coordinates. Moreover, it is more competent to take a guide or guide in the city of Mandalay, nearest to Pagan. Residents of neighboring villages do not always speak English well and are more likely to be guides than guides.
From Yangon airport to Bagan every day several flights are made, the flight takes 1 hour and 10 minutes. If you have the time, use the tourist steamer from Mandalay. The travel time will fly unnoticed, but the schedule should be specified on the pier, because flights are not made every day. There are also buses running from Yangon and Mandalay cities or from Inle Lake to Pagan town, their routes change from time to time, so you'll have to check the schedule yourself at the city bus station.
Places like Pagan often turn views on eternity and the meaning of life, to the depth of our experiences and immediate troubles. If you are in Myanmar , do not save time, visit the ancient city of Pagan.
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