Temple Pagodas Mrauk U Myohaung

local population to take over afterwards, according to official British statistics Britain will have a Muslim majority in about 2040 and the other European countries will follow. Simply by reproduction numbers over time to reach the majority and take over the state in the long run.

- A scenic landscape with pagodas around is typical.

The hills and valleys are dotted with dozens of pagodas, temples and lakes. Rising approximately forty meters from the dark ground, this exceptional pagoda was built under the supervision of King Thirithudhamma Raza in 1629 as an ordination hall.

The pagoda and the structures around are made from solid stone. Two hundred meters away, a small lake with a emerald colored surface within lush green vegetation creates a dream-like picture.

There are several passage ways with galleries throughout the inner temple. The temple is richly decorated with statues of  Buddha as well as images of the animals or persons which Gautama Buddha occupied in his 550 previous lives. People in native costumes with faded colors are shown wrestling, boxing and dancing.

A few kyats for the person sitting at the left behind the main entrance brings a half hour of electricity for the lamps. A rich cultural and traditional heritage mixed up with Portuguese, Indian and Arab influence came down to present day Rakhine or it was known before

as Arakan.

Mrauk U Myanmar is a very old city with its heydays were in the 16th and 17th centuries, contemporary to the days of the Tudor Kings of England, the Moguls and the Ayutthaya Kings of Thailand. At that time Mrauk U was fortified with 30 km long fortification walls and moats. A big city of the size of London at that time. Ships could navigate to the city after entering the delta, read more.

One of the main differences to most places in Myanmar or Burma is, many pagodas and temples of Mrauk U are built from stone, elsewhere they are made from bricks. The temple construction followed the Kunhaung architecture, that means smaller pagodas

have built at the corners of the lower basement of the temples.

In general this Buddha Temple reminds to the Borobodur Temple in Indonesia. 

One of the absolute highlights is the Sakyamanaung Pagoda situated a half mile north-east of the palace-site. To the south is the Ratanamanaung Pagoda.

- In ancient times Mrauk U had a tradition of producing coins

for trading, the Vesali kings started minting coins around the fifth century. Inscriptions on the coins show the title of the ruling king and his year of coronation.

Coins before 1640 had Arakan inscriptions on one side and Persian and Nagari inscriptions on the other. The inclusion of  foreign inscriptions that ment more easy acceptance by Indian and Arab traders. About twenty types of silver coins and three types of gold coins have been found until now. It was the privilege of the kings to issued coins.

This was the last royal capital of Rakhine or former Arakan in the north west of Myanmar is a scenic and exotic beauty with great historical remains and panoramas. Plenty of pagodas and temples of different areas can be founding this Mart of Myanmar. The pagodas are sometimes quite different in style compared to Bagan, the famous pagoda city in central Myanmar or Burma.

No wonder that the place is also known as the  'State of Pagodas' and the Portuguese who where one of the first colonist on the shores of Arakan gave the city the name 'The golden City'.

The city was founded in 1430 and became the capital of then Arakan. The area flourished over 355 years untill 1785. Before there were several other royal cities, Dhanyawaddy, Vesali, Sambawet, Pyinsa, Parein, Launggret , Hkirt.

Geographically, the place lies at the head of a tributary to the Kaladan River, about 45 miles from the Bay of Bengal coast. Sea going ships were able to reach the city via a network of waterways.

The position near the shores of the Bay of Bengal resulted in commercial and cultural development over the centuries.

Mr. Schouten, a Dutchman who visited the area in the 16th century mentioned that the city of was comparable in size and wealth to Amsterdam and London. He also mentioned that it was the richest city among the ports of Asia he had visited.

The wealth of the people depended mainly on extensive rice farming. The crops never failed because plenty of rain all over the year. Trading goods were allowed to import duty-free in order to encourage trade.

Thus Myohaung as the city was also known  had a large number of foreign merchants from the neighboring countries and western countries as well, such as the Netherlands,