lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

earthquake damage on eight occasions.Worse was to follow in 1768, when a quakebrought down the whole top of the zedi.King Hsinbyushin had it rebuilt to virtuallyits present height, and its current configurationdates from that renovation.British troops occupied the compoundfor two years immediately after the FirstAnglo-Burmese War in 1824. In 1852, duringthe Second Anglo-Burmese War, theBritish again took the paya, the soldiers pillagedit once more and it remained undermilitary control for 77 years, until 1929. In1871 a new hti (the umbrella-like decorativetop of a stupa), provided by King MindonMin from Mandalay, caused considerablehead-scratching for the British, who werenot at all keen for such an association tobe made with the still-independent part ofMyanmar.During the 20th century, the ShwedagonPaya was the scene for much political activityduring the Myanmar independence movement– Aung San Suu Kyi spoke to massivecrowds here in 1988 and the temple was alsoat the centre of the monks’ protests in 2007.The huge earthquake of 1930, which totallydestroyed the Shwemawdaw in Bago, causedonly minor damage to Shwedagon. Less luckwas had the following year when the payasuffered from a serious fire. After anotherminor earthquake in 1970, the zedi was cladin bamboo scaffolding, which extended beyondKing Mindon’s 100-year-old hti, andwas refurbished.DesignThere are four covered walkways up SinguttaraHill to the platform on which Shwedagonstands. The southern entrance, from ShwedagonPagoda Rd, is the one that can mostproperly be called the main entrance. Here,and at the northern entrance, there are liftsavailable, should you not feel fit enough forthe stroll up the stairs. The western entrancefeatures a series of escalators in place ofstairs, and is the only entrance without vendors.The eastern stairway has the most traditionalambience, passing adjacent kyaung(monasteries) and vendors selling monasticrequisites, such as alms bowls and robes.Two 30ft-high chinthe (legendary halflion,half-dragon guardian figures) loomover the southern entrance. You must removeyour shoes and socks as soon as youmount the first step. Like the other entrances,the southern steps are lined with a seriesof shops, where devotees buy flowers – bothTHE LEGEND OF THESHWEDAGON PAYAOnce upon a time in the land of Suvannabhumi,a great king was presentedwith a gift of eight strands of hair. Thebearers of these gifts, two merchantbrothers who had journeyed fromfaraway lands after looking for an enlightenedone, told King Okkalapa thathe should guard these strands well forthey were no ordinary hairs.The king set to his task with zeal andon the summit of a 10,000-year-oldsacred hill he enshrined the hairs in atemple of gold, which was enclosed ina temple of silver, then one of tin, thencopper, then lead, then marble and,finally, one of plain iron-brick.real and beautifully made paper ones – forofferings. Buddha images, ceremonial paperumbrellas, books, golden thrones, incensesticks and antiques are also on sale. Howeverhot it may be outside, you’ll find thewalkway cool, shady and calm. It’s this quiet,subdued atmosphere on the entrance stepsthat makes the impact so great as you arriveat the platform.Also linked to the Shwedagon complex’ssouthern gate is the Maha Wizaya Paya(Map p 48 ; U Htaung Bo St; admission K200; h24hr).It’s a rather plain but well-proportioned zedibuilt in 1980 to commemorate the unificationof Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar.The king of Nepal contributed sacred relicsfor the zedi’s relic chamber and Myanmarmilitary strongman Ne Win had it toppedwith an 11-level hti – two more levels thanthe hti at Shwedagon.You emerge from semi-gloom into a dazzlingexplosion of technicoloured glitter, forShwedagon is not just one huge, glowingzedi (stupa). Around the mighty stupa clusteran incredible assortment of smaller zedi,statues, temples, shrines, images and tazaung(small pavilions). Somehow, the brightgold of the main stupa makes everythingelse seem brighter and larger than life.Stupas – indeed, all Buddhist structures –should be walked around clockwise, soturn left at the top of the steps and, like thecrowds of locals, start strolling. During theheat of the day, you’ll probably have to confineyourself to the mat pathway laid around45YANGON SIGHTSSIGHTS