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160TEMPLES OF BAGAN THE TEMPLESmysterious, bricked-up inner passagewaysand cruel history.It’s said that King Narathu built the templeto atone for his sins: he smothered his fatherand brother to death and executed one ofhis wives, an Indian princess, for practisingHindu rituals. Narathu is also said to havemandated that the mortarless brickwork fittogether so tightly that even a pin couldn’tpass between any two bricks. Workers whofailed in this task had their arms choppedoff: just inside the west entrance, note thestones with arm-sized grooves where theseamputations allegedly happened.After Narathu died – by assassination in1170 – the inner encircling ambulatory wasfilled with brick rubble, as ‘payback’. (Othersquietly argue the temple dates from theearlier reign of Alaungsithu, which wouldrefute all this fun legend behind it.) It’s alsolikely that this bricking up of the passageswas a crude way of ensuring the massivestructure didn’t collapse.The plan here is similar to Ananda, withprojecting porticoes and receding terraces,though its sikhara is reduced to a stubnowadays. Walking around the outer ambulatory,under ceilings so high you can onlyhear the squeaks of bats circling in the dark,you can see some intact stucco reliefs andpaintings, suggesting the work had beencompleted. The mystery goes on.Three out of the four buddha sanctumswere also filled with bricks. The remainingwestern shrine features two original side-bysideimages of Gautama and Maitreya, thehistorical and future buddhas (it’s the onlyBagan site with two side-by-side buddhas).The temple’s bad karma may be the reasonit remains one of the few temples not tohave undergone major restoration. But thatmay change in the future, as China is saidto be interested in donating funds for sucha project. Perhaps then one of the great architecturalmysteries of Bagan will be solved.Sulamani PahtoBUDDHIST TEMPLEcUL;m,ipuqiu"About half a mile east of Dhammayangyi, thisbroad two-storey temple is one of Bagan’smost attractive, with lush grounds (and amplevendors) behind the surrounding walls. It’s aprime example of later, more sophisticatedtemple styles, with better internal lighting.This temple with five doorways is knownas the Crowning Jewel and was constructedaround 1181 by Narapatisithu. Combiningthe early period’s horizontal planes with thevertical lines of the middle period, the recedingterraces create a pyramid effect. Thebrickwork throughout is considered some ofthe best in Bagan. The gilded sikhara is areconstruction; the original was destroyedin the 1975 earthquake. The interior face ofthe wall was once lined with 100 monasticcells, a feature unique among Bagan’s ancientmonasteries.There’s much to see inside. Carved stuccoon mouldings, pediments and pilasters representssome of Bagan’s finest ornamentalwork and is in fairly good condition. Glazedplaques around the base and terraces are alsostill visible, as are many big and small murals.Buddha images face the four directionsfrom the ground floor; the image at the maineastern entrance sits in a recess built into thewall. The interior passage around the base ispainted with quite big frescoes from the Konbaungperiod, and there are traces of earlierfrescoes. The stairways to the top are closed.Thabeik HmaukBUDDHIST TEMPLEspit'emH;k'Facing Sulamani from 150yd east, and wellworth visiting, this sikhara-topped templelooks like a miniature version of its more famousneighbour, but sees far fewer visitors(or vendors). Thabeik Hmauk means ‘BoycottTemple’, as it was made in response tothe similarly designed Sulamani, which wasordered by the brutal king Narapatisithu.Much of its interior was damaged by the1975 earthquake, but there are multiplestairways up to a wrap-around meditationchamber with little light (and a few bats).There are two outside terraces, reached bynarrow stairs, with superb views.Pyathada PayaBUDDHIST TEMPLE¨pSd:".ur;"About half a mile southeast of Sulamani,reached by dirt roads that sometimes getobscured in goat fields, this huge, impressivepagoda is a superb sunset-viewing spot, witha giant open terrace (Bagan’s largest) atopthe steps, and another small deck furtherup. The tour groups have discovered it soyou’re unlikely to have the place to yourself.Note how the top stupa isn’t centred on thetop platform.Dating from the 13th century, during thelatter period of temple building at Bagan,Pyathada’s interior arches are still partlyopen to view. The architects used an inner relievingarch and a second upper arch to supportthe huge chambers, illustrating the point