Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
temple's upper terrace in eyesore concrete in order to stop water leaking into the temple be-
low.
The Shittaung Pillar
At the bottom of the steps up to the temple stands the
Shittaung Pillar
(set inside in a green
barred shelter), with inscriptions in badly eroded Sanskrit recording the genealogy of the
Arakan kings. The three sides (the fourth is blank) are thought to have each been carved two
hundred years apart, in the sixth, eighth and tenth centuries respectively.
The prayer hall and central shrine
At the top of the stairs, entrance is via a small vestibule where tickets are issued and guide-
books sold (walking straight through the vestibule and exiting via the rear door brings you
out right next to the Andaw Thein). Turn left into the colourful modern
prayer hall
, with
gilded Buddhas stacked up around the walls and bright ceiling paintings overhead. An elab-
orate stone door directly ahead of you (as you enter the hall) leads into a
centralshrine
with
a large gilded Buddha, its body patterned with squares of gold leaf applied by worshippers.
The corridors
Shittaung's real highlights, however, are the pair of marvellously atmospheric corridors
reached via doors in the far left corner of the prayer hall. The
inner corridor
, walled with
roughlyhewnsandstoneandlinedwithdozensofBuddhas,coilsroundonitselfbeforereach-
ing a dead end, with tiny openings in the walls offering glimpses of the main prayer hall and
outer corridor.
Evenmoreimpressive isthe
outercorridor
,however,morethan100m-longandlinedwith
a spectacularly intricate stone frieze decorated with more than a thousand sculptures. The
friezeisdividedintosixlevels,alternatelyprojectingandrecessed,withfadedpaintcovering
manysurfaces. Carvings depict theusualJataka scenes andmiscellaneous mythical monsters
along with figures from Rakhine life (musicians, dancers, soldiers). Larger projecting sculp-
tures include King Minbin himself (in the southwest corner), Indra mounted on his three-
headed elephant Erawan, and Brahma astride his
hamsa
.
Htukkanthein Paya
Daily 7am-5.30pm • Entry covered by main temple ticket
The
Htukkanthein
(or “Dukkanthein”)
Paya
is the most memorable of all Mrauk U's
temples, and the perfect example of the town's distinctive architectural style: a huge mass
of brick and stone virtually unrelieved by any kind of decoration and looking more like a
fortress, high-security prison or nuclear bomb shelter than anything remotely religious. The
temple'sdefensivequalitiesareenhancedbyitssettingonahigh,almostsheer-sided,terrace,
with just a single entrance - even the tiny square windows look like embrasures for cannon
rather than sources of light.
