Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(600m) south of the Htilominlo, across Anawrahta Rd. It's also known as 'Temple 394'
(not correctly labelled on some maps).
If persistent vendors are buzzing around, try the miniature version, Temple 405 , with
several glazed tiles visible, just east of Buledi.
Gubyauknge BUDDHIST TEMPLE
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Off Anawrahta Rd, almost a mile east of Htilominlo, this early Bagan-period temple has
some excellent stucco carvings on the outside walls (particularly on the north side) and
some original paintings visible inside.
Wetkyi-In-Gubyaukgyi BUDDHIST TEMPLE
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Just west of Nyaung U and about 330ft (100m) east of Gubyauknge, this detailed off-the-
main-circuit, 13th-century temple has an Indian-style spire, like the Mahabodhi Paya in
Old Bagan. It's interesting for fine frescoes of scenes from the Jataka but, unfortunately,
in 1899 a German collector surreptitiously removed many of the panels on which the
frescoes were painted. Those that remain in the entry are in great shape.
Steps inside lead to four buddha images and you can see Hindu figures engraved on
the spire.
HISTORY OR LEGEND?
A lack of primary sources means the 'histories' attached to Burma's early king-
doms are often a matter of opinion and creative interpretation. 'The best way to
treat any legendary story is as a legend,' says Sydney University's Dr Bob Hudson,
an archaeological expert on Myanmar. He points out that some contemporary
scholars have quite different interpretations of the story of Bagan.
'Michael Aung-Thwin, in his book Mists of Rammana(University of Hawaii
Press), proposes that there was no conquest of Thaton, and that a Mon element in
the population of Bagan got there because they had been pushed westward out of
Thailand by the expansionist kings of Angkor. The appearance of Indian art styles
at Bagan also did not need to come via Thaton. Following the conquest of Buddhist
and Hindu principalities in eastern India by the image-shunning Muslims, the logic-
al destination for an Indian artist who specialised in painting or carving human fig-
ures was the economically booming and devoutly Buddhist Bagan. The Indian art
style became modified by local tastes and techniques, creating a distinctive Myan-
mar style.
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