Mrauk U, the Golden City
of the west
The jungle vines creeping over the some
of its 600-year old temples & stupas of
Mrauk U (aka Myohaung or the old city,)
lies on a rocky isolated plateau in western
Myanmar, is once one of most spectacular
royal cites of Asia. King Min Saw Mon set
the foundation stones of the great city
in 1433, where it remained for next 355-year,
while its golden age aroused under the King
Razagyi after his conquest over the Bamar’s
most powerful kingdom Bago in early 17th
century, until the destruction of Burmese
King Bodawpaya in 1784. Mrauk U served as
a free port for trading with Middle East,
Portugal, Spain, and Holland in its heydays.
A European visitor, Father Sebastiao Manrique
vibrantly depicted Mrauk U’s metropolis
appearance and the city’s richness he’d
seen at the Mrauk U market during the king’s
coronation in 17th century.
Nowadays, some 157Buddhist shrines and
pagodas, where a couple of large, well-known
ones were renovated while others in various
stages of decay, veiled with dense jungle
vegetations and crumbled by the strangling
green vines. Comparing to Myanmar’s most
popular 11th century Bagan, Mrauk U may
be smaller in scope with limited transport
and accommodation facilities; it is still
a well worthy Myanmar’s backwater archaeological
destination at the foothills of Chin Hills.
For those who tend to be more adventurous
can be visited to the Chin villages along
the Laymyro River to see the village women
with their tattooed faces, marveled their
traditional woven fabrics.
Mrauk U can be reached via Sittwe, the
capital of Rakhaing State. Although there’s
a road between Sittwe & Mrauk U, the best
way to reach to/from these places is 65km
(4 to 6hours) lovely boat trip along scenic
Kaladen River. It is necessary to plan the
Mrauk U/Sittwe trip separately from other
Myanmar tours as it can only be reached
by flight from Yangon. Depending on the
seasonal demand, there might be a couple
of flights from Thandwe (Ngapali Beach)
to Sittwe.
Sittwe
Sittwe, situated on an estuarial island
at the confluence of the Kaladan River,
Myu River, and Lemyo River, is a port city
of the Rakhine State sits at the mouth of
the Kaladan River where it empties into
the Bay of Bangal. The city started as a
trading port around 200 years ago and further
developed after the British occupation of
1826. But for most tourists, Sittwe is just
a hurry-and-leave point for those heading
to Mrauk U. In fact, Sittwe has a few advisable
highlights that are worth-seeing, like the
fish market, the waterfront, Rakhaing State
cultural Museum, and a couple of Buddhist
museums.
Mrauk U Highlights
 Andaw
Pagoda
The Andaw Pagoda of Mrauk U means the
Pagoda enshrining the tooth-relic of Buddha.
The pagoda is located about 86 feet from
the Shittaung Pagoda in the north-east direction.
Min Hla Raza was the original builder of
this pagoda in 1521 A.D. Due to some damaged
parts, the King of Mrauk U, Minrazagyi reconstructed
this pagoda in 1596 A.D. The central tower
of the shrine contains the tooth-relic of
Buddha. It was originally obtained from
Sri Lanka by King Minbin (1534-1542 A.D.)
Dukkanthein
Dukkanthein also called as Htukanthein
or Htoekanthein, stands on a hill which
is about 30 feet in height. Its structure
is like a flat surface in the form of a
drum. King Minphalaung built the pagoda
in 1571 A.D. Like most of the ancient monuments
in Mrauk U, Dukkanthein was built with sandstones
and layers of bricks over the roof. The
inner chambers and passages of the temple
are constructed with well fitting and cemented
stones. The pagoda is well-known for the
stone sculptures in the vaulted passages,
es¬pecially the figures of seated ladies,
with different styles of coiffure, in the
manner of offering lotus buds to the Buddha.
Koethaung
 Koethaung
Pagoda, the name means 90,000 and probably
signified the number of Buddha images it
was supposed to contain. King Mintaikkha
who was the son of the King Minbin, the
donor of the great Shitthaung Pagoda, built
the Koethaung Pagoda in 1553 A.D. The pagoda
was constructed of massive stonewalls and
terraces. The small one hundred and eight
pagodas, all made of sandstone, were built
on the terraces. The entrance to the pagoda
on the east side leads to a long vaulted
passage which spirals round the tiers until
it reaches the central chamber. The construction
of the Koethaung Pagoda resembles a rock
cave tunnel. The main tower above the pagoda
is octagonal in shape. It is believed that
there may be treasures of sculptures, artworks
and even valuable jewelleries buried underneath
the ruins. The platform is scattered here
and there with vestiges of pagodas, images
and many other such paraphernalia.
Shittaung Pagoda
Shitthaung or "temple of the 80,000 Buddhas"
located about half a mile to the north of
the palace site was built by one of the
most powerful kings of the Mrauk-U Dynasty,
called by the people, Minbargyi. It is an
ancient temple, in Mrauk Oo of northern
Rakhine state, Myanmar. According to records
on inscriptions as King Minbin who reigned
from 1513 to 1553. The king built this fortress-temple
after repulsing a Portuguese attack on the
City of Mrauk U.
Lemyathnar Pagoda
|
