Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Secular architecture
Templesapart,traditionalBurmesebuildingswereconstructedentirelyofwoodandhaveen-
tirely vanished as a result of fire, earthquakes, World War II and the depredations of time -
the now empty plains surrounding the temples of Bagan, for example, would once have been
filled with wooden houses, palaces and monastic and administrative buildings. The recon-
structedroyalpalaceatMandalaygivesaslight(ifnotmassivelyinspiring)senseofwhatold
Myanmar looked like. More authentic are the few surviving wooden religious buildings such
as the Yoke Sone Kyaung monastery in
Salay
.
