Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fourth floor
Fewvisitorsseethemuseumallthewaythroughtoitsbitterendonthedeserted
fourthfloor
.
The
Buddha ImagesGallery
houses numerous statues from the second century BC through
to the eighteenth century - all impressive enough, although none is especially memorable.
Also on this floor, the
National Races Gallery
showcases the crafts and cultures of the na-
tion's ethnic minorities. The mannequins in traditional dress are probably the highlight, but
mostoftheotherstuffherelookslikeunlabelledbric-a-brac-andexhibitslikethe“bigbam-
boo spoon” are unlikely to set the pulse racing.
Dargah of Bahadur Shah Zafar
Ziwaka St • Donation • No fixed opening hours but usually open daily 8am-8pm
One of Yangon's most interesting curiosities is the
dargah
(shrine) of the last Mughal em-
peror of India,
Bahadur Shah Zafar
, or Bahadur Shah II (1775-1862). The peaceable and
largely powerless emperor became the reluctant figurehead of the Indian Mutiny of 1857,
duringwhich many ofhisfamily were killed, including twoofhisownsons(the full andfas-
cinating story of the emperor's role in the uprising is brilliantly told in William Dalrymple's
The Last Mughal
).HavingsurrenderedtotheBritish,BahadurwasexiledtoRangoon,where
he lived out the rest of his days before being buried in an unmarked grave which was only
rediscoveredin1991.ThetombofthelastMughalemperornowliesinacryptbelowground,
with three further tombs (including that of his wife Zinat, in the middle) above - each a
simple rectangular block draped in copious green silks and scattered with rose petals. The
emperor is still regarded as a Sufi saint by many Burmese Muslims, who come here to seek
blessings at his shrine.
Shwedagon Pagoda
ShwedagonPagodaRd•Daily 4am-10pm •K8000or$9•
shwedagonpagoda.com
•Allow2-3hrforavisit,
best towards sunset • Guides can normally be found for hire at the top of the southern stairs
Myanmar's greatest temple, and one of the world's most majestic Buddha monuments, the
Shwedagon Pagoda
towers above Yangon like some kind of supersized spiritual beacon - a
magically shimmering outline by day, a spectacular blaze of gold after dusk, when the lights
come on. The pagoda is the most revered in Myanmar, said to enshrine eight strands of hair
of the historical
Buddha
, Gautama, along with further relics of his three predecessors: the
staffofKakusandha,thewaterbottleofKonagamana, andafragmentofKassapa'srobe.The
pagoda remains not only the holiest shrine in Myanmar but also a potent symbol of national
identity and a major rallying point for the pro-democracy movement since colonial times. It
remains magical at any time of the day or night, but is particularly beautiful around sunset,
when locals come to pray and the great gilded stupa seems almost to catch fire in the last of
the day's light.
