Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar after Yangon. Although the name Mandalay evokes romantic visions of bygone Burmese splendours, Mandalay is actually a relatively new city created in 1857.
We spent a few days walking around the city and soaking up the atmosphere.
Mandalay Fire Department
Local transport
Chanting nuns on their morning alms collection round
Walled Mandalay Palace complex which was surrounded by a moat – Mandalay Hill in the background
We visited the Gold-Pounders’ District where the one-inch square gold leaf sheets we had seen worshippers putting onto Buddha images were laboriously hammer pounded by hand.
Worshippers applying gold leaf to the seated Buddha at the Mahamuni Paya
Over the centuries so much gold leaf has been applied to the Buddha figure that it is now covered in a knobbly 6 inch thick layer of pure gold.
Shwe In Bin Kyaung, a beautiful teak monastery standing on tree-trunk stumps.
Locals manually loading open topped rusty metal drums containing jaggery (converted from sugar cane)
Cargo being loaded and unloaded manually on the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) riverside
Seated bronze Buddha in the Setkyathiha Paya
View from the top of Mandalay Hill
Golden Palace Monastery
No comments:
Post a Comment