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Mandalay Hill is the landmark of Myanmar Mandalay City, the last royal city of the Myanmar Kings, King Mindon and King Thibaw is the hub and centre of Myanmar culture, arts and crafts, Myanmar literature, music and dancing, fine Arts, and besides the core of Buddhist learning and architecture. It is the place where so-called Myanmar Ten Flowers bloom and flourish. Myanmar Mandalay Hill                                                                         will see the city, the royal palace, Kuthodaw pagoda and also the blue ridge of the Shan mountains, the sleepy town of Sagaing on the bank of ever-flowing mother Ayeyawady.

Mandalay Hill

The City is closely associated with the historic Myanmar Mandalay Hill, which stands close-by. Mandalay Hill provides great scenes and beauty that supplements the added value of the city. Emerald-green Nanda Lake is close to it. It is 236 m high and situated just northeast of the City. On top of the hill one could behold panoramic view of Myanmar Mandalay and its environs, enjoying peace and tranquility, joy and contentment and can submerge in harmony with nature. Two large and majestic Lion statues are guarding the entrance to Mandalay Hill and will take 1729 steps to the apex. After taking 435 steps, one will reach the observation platform from where one can have bird’s eye view of the stunning scenes and sights.

LEGEND There is a strong tradition belief that at one times, Buddha and his faithful disciple Ananda happened to visit the Mandalay Hill. Buddha emphatically prophesied that in the 2400th year of Buddhist Religion (1857 A.C.), a great metropolis would be founded at his foot. That prediction came into reality during the reign of King Mindon (1853-78) who transferred his royal capital of Amarapura to his newly-built Myanmar Mandalay City. To commemorate the great event a huge Buddha’s standing statue is constructed, pointing his right arm to the direction of the Myanmar Mandalay City. This statue was originally commissioned by King Mindon and later restored by famous Great Hermit, U Khanti. It is known as Byadeikpay Buddha statue (Foretelling Buddha).

Mandalay Hill

PESHAWAR RELICS at Myanmar Mandalay At this place, one will find a pagoda that shrines relics of Buddha. It is surprising; the Buddha relics came from Peshawar, 2000 years ago. Peshawar is also called Purushapura, well known as the centre of Ghandara Art, the ancient and oldest school of Buddhist Art in the world. The Ruler of Kushana dynasty, in the 2nd century, opened up the stupa of the Great Emperor Asoka and redistributed the contents. During the 20th century, when the British made archaeological excavations there, they discovered a reliquary containing Buddha’ relics, belonging to Kushana Kings. As the Muslims had no idea to deal with those relics, the British had no option but to present the same to the Myanmar people. Hence, the authentic Buddha relics are to be enshrined in the said pagoda. One of the most beautiful Burmese or Myanmar Buddhist pagoda - temple is in Penang Malaysia.

More Myanmar Mandalay Photo - Picture    See the Myanmar Mandalay Videos

King Mindon the father of King Thibaw reigned from 1853 to 1878. In 1857 he gave the order to move the capital from Amarapura to a Myanmar Mandalay. Chosen was a suitable place near the holy mountain, Mandalay Hill. According to the legend Lord Buddha had stood here once with his disciple Ananda.

From there Lord Buddha pointed towards the South-West prophesying that sometime in the future a city of great religious importance would be built there. King Mindon chose this spot and named the new city Myanmar Mandalay.

King Mindon of Myanmar Mandalay propitiously gave the name of his newly founded city of Mandalay as Yadanabon, meaning, where all the prosperity accumulates. In short, Mandalay was known as “the City of Gems”.

After four years building the royal palace at Myanmar Mandalay was finished in 1859. During his reign he strongly supported culture and religion. He tried hard to make Myanmar Mandalay a centre of Buddhist learning, convening the Fifth Buddhist Council there in 1871.

Despite of strong conservative opposition, Mindon initiated several reforms. The most important reforms he did on the land tax plus fixed salaries for government employees. He standardized the country’s weights and measures. A program to build roads and a telegraph system was started. He also was the first king to issue coinage.

The British colonialists forced him to sign a treaty to split the country, cut Burma off from the sea and took some of the best teak forest and rice growing regions under their control.

The king also started industrial reforms in Myanmar, many foreign machinery was imported and set up (about the same time when the Japanese under the Meiji dynasty did the same). Unfortunately the British destroyed all industrial setups when they took control of the whole country.

This was according to their doctrine to force their colonies to function as supplier of raw material only. King Mindon died in a all teak pavilion within the palace city. King Thibaw donated this building to be used as a monastery

In 1858 the foundations for the Myanmar Mandalay Palace

wall were laid out and persons selected to be buried alive under each gate and one under each corner of the Mandalay Palace wall. In addition, four were buried under the Mandalay Palace Lion Throne and others at strategic points. All together fifty-two humans, among them a pregnant woman, were buried within the Mandalay palace fortress on the advice an assembly of astrologers.

Myanmar Mandalay Palace Illustration from the 19 Century	Myanmar Mandalay Palace Illustration from the 19 Century Panorama
Myanmar Mandalay Palace Moat and Wall Sunset	Myanmar Mandalay Palace Meditating under the rain tree

Myanmar Mandalay Palace

Mandalay Palace Building next to the Lion Throne Hall

The fortified Mandalay Palace, built in the form of a square with brick and mud-plastered walls, is 8 meters high and 2 kilometers long. It has 12 gates equidistant from each other, 3 on each side, surmounted by tiered roofs. A moat (picture below) 66 meters wide and 3.7 meters deep, surrounds the city with four bridges leading to the doors in he wall.
The king declared this is the centre of the universe and he is receiving the messages directly “from above” through
Mandalay Palace the centre of the universe communication was through the spire.	the spire (picture left). The Royal Myanmar Mandalay Palace of traditional Myanmar wooden architecture was a complex of highly ornamented and gilded buildings and glass mosaic. The original Mandalay Palace buildings were razed to the ground by fire near the end of World War II but Myanmar Mandalay Palace the centre of the universe now Myat Nan San Kyaw, the golden Palace, has been reconstructed according to its original design. The funds were donated from various parties, mainly from the wealthy after some constructive requests by the local military.
Mandalay Palace moat and wall
Myanmar Mandalay Palace British Soldiers Parade	In the end, the country was finally annexed by the British in 1885. Myanmar was devastated by the World War II and the British evacuation and the reoccupation of Mandalay and Myanmar. During the war, many significant buildings of Mandalay were either burnt down or heavily damaged. That included many constructions in Mandalay, including the King’s palace. However, the palace of Mandalay and many buildings were rebuilt on the original ground on old model. Last Myanmar or Burmese King and Queen in Mandalay

King Mindon (1853-1878) was upright, wise and compassionate, out of Mandalay he ruled the country efficiently. He made vast and far-reaching reforms in the fields of administration, economy and judiciary. He also sent envoys to Europe for the first time in Myanmar golden Myanmar.

The first Myanmar Minister who visited the West was distinguished Minister, Kinwun Mingyi, eminent administrator and jurist. King Mindon convened the Fifth Buddhist Synod (Sangayana) at Mandalay, engraving the Buddhist scriptures at the Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of the Mandalay hill.

Buddhist Canon of Tripitaka Texts were inscribed on 729 marble slabs and housed in small shrines there. It constitutes the “World’s Biggest Book” in Mandalay. If piled up it will reach the height of 20 storied high rise building. King Thibaw (1878-1885), the last king who ruled the country

Buddhist scriptures at the Kuthodaw Pagoda.

Mandalay Buddha and ogress

Brief Chronology of Myanmar Mandalay

11.Sept.1853 a general meeting of monks and other men held at Masoeyane Monastery decided against the move of the capital to a new site.13.Sept.1853 A petition was put up to the king to convey the fact that public opinion was against the
move of capital.
30.Oct.1856 A survey team was sent to inspect site for the new capital.
31.Oct.1856 A plan was drawn for the new capital.
29.Dec.1856 A detailed program was written to carry out the ceremonial and ritualistic side of the construction scheme, care was taken that none of the formalities omitted.
13.Jan.1857 A Royal Order was issued sanctioning the built of a new capital at a site called Mandalay.

2.Feb.1857 Repair of water reservoir around the new site started and finished in two month’s
time.

Upon arrival in Myanmar Mandalay, I visit Maha Muni Temple and Pagoda, which enshrines Myanmar's most sacred Buddha statue. According to legend, the twelve foot, seven inch statue was cast in the 1st century AD after Lord Buddha consented to a replica of his "Living Self." Followers fervently believe that it harbors some of his soul.

It was conveyed to Myanmar Mandalay in 1784 as a spoil of war from Arakan. It is a mystery how such a large icon was transported over the steep, pathless mountainside, but many attribute the feat to its supernatural powers. As a woman, I am barred from entering the inner sanctum, but with a 200mm zoom lens, I am able to capture the magnificence of this revered icon from the outside.

The Buddha statue is greatly distorted from an estimated twelve tons of gold leaf offerings that worshippers have burnished onto the body. Devotees arrive daily starting at 4:00 a.m. to perform the meritorious deeds of washing the face, gilding the revered icon, or simply meditating. They do not pray, per se, but rather refresh their memories of Buddhist principles by repeating the scriptures. However, their recitation seems to me indistinguishable from prayer, and their expressions are those of hopes fulfilled and serenity attained. To look upon the Spartan simplicity of the people and their dress against the wealth that devotion has lavished on the venerated image, it seems a more strident contrast is not to be found anywhere in the world.

Another of Myanmar Mandalay's most important sites is Kuthodaw, known as the world's largest book. Rows upon rows of white miniature pagodas contain 729 marble slabs, which are inscribed on both sides with the Tripitaka, or Buddhist scriptures, and best captured with a 20mm lens and warming filter.

King Mindon built the complex in 1857 to safeguard the scriptures, which were previously recorded only on palm leaf. The King convened 2400 monks for six months to deliberate and agree upon an authorized version. It took 5000 masons eight years to inscribe the marble slabs. Upon completion, the whole work was read aloud without a pause. It takes 220 days for a monk to recite the full scriptures and five have managed to memorize them.

In the environs of Kuthodaw, Shwe Nan Daw Monastery was at one time part of the Mandalay Palace.

When their teacher catches on to the disruption, I feign contrition, much to the gleeful amusement of the pupils, and quickly retreat.

Carrying with me the ineffaceable images of the first day's exploration of Myanmar Mandalay, I am still to behold a wondrous sight.

Set in what seems to be the quietest landscape on earth, the U-Bein Bridge is a sublime merging of nature and man's creation. Extending 3/4 of a mile over Taungthaman Lake, this longest teak bridge in the world seems to stretch

out to infinity.

Built in 1784 from 1,086 lofty teak pillars that were salvaged from the Inwa Palace, the impressive footbridge stands just as sturdily today as it did more than two centuries ago.

Among the "rush hour" commuters silhouetted against the persimmon and amethyst sky are monks, fishermen, vendors, and those who come simply to behold the breathtaking sunset.

As an unparalleled beauty gradually unfolds at Myanmar Mandalay, I begin to understand the allure. I mount my camera on my tripod as everything seems to fall into place in the most agreeable way: subject, exposure, and composition come together to created an image of unity and magic, wonderfully evocative of hard-working people returning home at the end of the day. Dusk falls on the U-Bein Bridge at Amarapura with the gentleness of a calm whisper, and the all-embracing serenity reminds me how everyday cares fade away in the presence of nature's gifts.

This tram or streetcar was running in Myanmar Mandalay during the same time as the Meiji dynasty was on in Japan.

During this time the development of Myanmar was about the same as the development in Japan.

The British colonialists destroyed everything according to the doctrine to keep Myanmar purely as a supplier for raw material.

This is one of the reason why there is this mess in the country and Mandalay this days, the foundation for this was laid by the British.

I reluctantly say goodbye to my new friends. It has been one of those golden chances of fate that comes but seldom in a lifetime.

Among countless memories of Myanmar Mandalay, this will always stand out because of the quality of friendship that entered into it. Here, as throughout Myanmar, what I  enjoy most is meeting the gentle people of kind demeanor and gracious manners.

I know I will never forget this magical day, and I am reminded of what my friend Joyce says of the people she meets in her travels. "We are still connected, although we may never meet again. I become a part of them and they become a part of me."

Day three at Myanmar Mandalay begins at the Ayeyarwady River, known as "The Road to Mandalay" and made famous by Rudyard Kipling's poem. For centuries, this vital river has been the region's lifeblood and main highway of commerce. Once the route of entourages of ancient kings and early explorers, it is still an essential means of travel and transport. The Kywezun Jetty is a fascinating, dilapidated shantytown on the banks of the Ayeyarwady. I slowly explore the animated jetty, stopping to take in every intriguing detail, feeling the tremendous energy of the place.

Smoke from cooking fires hangs in the air, and everything appears monochromatic, as if seen through a reddish-brown sepia tone filter. Scores of riverboats are moored at the water's edge while others jostle for space.

The Irrawaddy shore at Myanmar Mandalay is lined with rows of bullock carts and heaps of merchandise for transport. I've brought my tripod along but quickly abandon it for ease of movement and navigation.

Carpets of Myanmar pottery and red chilies are spread in the sun to dry.

The cultural richness of Myanmar Mandalay is manifest in several artistic traditions, but puppetry stands out for its distinctive nature. These marionette performances date back centuries, when they were held in the royal courts. The themes of marionette plays are drawn from the ten great lives of Lord Buddha, from the 550 birth stories of Prince Siddharta, and from historic legend. The elaborately carved wooden puppets, between two and three feet in height, are lavishly dressed in embroidered silk, velvet, sequins and gems.

From the back of the tiny theatre, I position myself with 400 ISO film, an 80-200mm zoom lens, and flash to capture the action as the puppet master expertly manipulates the marionettes to life in roles ranging from serpents to garudas and jesters to kings. Horses gallop against a backdrop of forest.

Monkeys swing through the jungle grasping for bananas. 

On my fourth day in Myanmar Mandalay, I venture to Ava, which lies twelve miles southwest of Mandalay. To arrive there, I cross the Irrawaddy River by ferry and explore by the only means of transport available: a cart drawn by a pony in a tasseled harness. Ava was founded by the Shan King Thadominbya in 1364 and remained the longest standing capital of the Shan Dynasty, until 1783. It was abandoned in the 18th century and remains nearly so today except for small villages of inhabitants living in thatch huts. The opulence is now hushed, but the deeper undertones of grandeur remain. The crumbling, ruined temple stands in a melancholy field of overgrown prairie grass, and 16th century Shan style Buddha's are majestic in their desolation. Photographed from their bases, shooting upward with a 20mm lens, they are grand. As I wander through the austere remains, the mystery of this ancient civilization deepens, and I begin to wonder if I am awake or in some strange, wonderful world of dreams.

As my all too brief, magical journey draws to a close, I can't help but reflect on the singular power of this place. To experience Myanmar Mandalay is to step out of the chaotic whirl of contemporary life, cast off your burdens, and live in the moment. It is to wake before dawn to a pageant of pious monks; to make a new friend; to stand in the warm, magical dusk and listen with gratitude to the calm silence. Enchantment follows enchantment, and there is wonder afoot for anyone willing to notice the simple pleasures that edify the mind and quiet the soul. A journey through Mandalay is also a journey into your innermost heart. It offers a respite from the world ... and a deeper connection with it.

Any mention of products or services in this article or anywhere else in the PSA Journal does not constitute an endorsement or approval of those items. PSA Journal, Debbie Jefkin-Elnekave

On certain places like Bagan, Myanmar Mandalay, Yangon etc. it could be usefull to hire a local photographer to assist you in finding the right places for photo - pictures at the right time.

The reason is very very simple the local photographer at Myanmar Mandalay and Bagan know all the good photo shooting places, that includes naturally also video. They show you places to make your super photo you would never have found, especially when you don't have more than maybe a couple of days in a particular for doing your Myanmar photo.

The best choice around Bagan and Mt. Popa is Mr. Bagan Maung Maung, you can find him or one of his family member at the Ananda temple, they have a sales booth in one of the entrance of the temple, just ask, everyone know him, he is one of the most famous photographer in Myanmar and will also show you his rich collection of Myanmar photo he made over the years.

Its really worth it, you will have a visual experience you never dreamed about.

If you are on a longer photo - video trip you can hire a Myanmar photographer to come with you just like you hire the tourist guide, its worth it, doesn't cost lot of money and makes sure you will find the REAL places.

If you look for a photo guide in Yangon, Mr. Ko Oo is a excellent choice, you can reach him through the e-mail of this site, click contact. All other places have their own local photographer ask at the hotel or us.

We also have a pool of Myanmar writer available who can do a excellent text on almost any subject, but ... no politics.
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