Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
countries this led to the idea that rare albino elephants were sacred and could not
be put to work. Effectively of no practical use, yet expensive to feed, white ele-
phants were thus seen by 19th-century Western observers to be the embodiment
of financial extravagance. The term 'white elephant' eventually came to mean as
much in standard English. However, in Burma/Myanmar and Siam/Thailand, the
possession of white elephants was (and is) a potent symbol of kingship. Certain
Burmese monarchs referred to themselves as 'golden-footed lord of the white ele-
phant'. In 1885 when one of King Thibaw's white elephants died, it was interpreted
as an omen foretelling the king's imminent demise at the hands of a British inva-
sion force. And the Brits' insensitive decision to drag the elephant's carcass unce-
remoniously out of Mandalay Palace so horrified the pious city folk that the act
helped spark 10 years of guerilla resistance.
Kyauktawgyi Paya
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(12th St, 66/68; 5am-8pm)
At the heart of this large 19th-century complex is a
900-tonne Buddha, 26ft tall and dressed in royal attire. Carved from a single block of
marble, it reputedly took 10,000 men 13 days to transport it from a canal to the present
site before its dedication in 1865.
Outer halls are edged in mirror tiles. A little subshrine in the southeast courtyard dis-
plays a giant marble 'alms bowl' and colourful renderings of King Mindon's 1865 visit.
The October temple festival is so big that stallholders start erecting evening food stalls
along the eastern approach roads some two weeks before it starts.
Moat & Fortress Walls
FORTIFICATIONS
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
Viewable only from the outside, a 230ft-wide moat and well over 4 miles of
crenellated 26ft-high walls form a vast square around the site of the former Mandalay
fortress/citadel. Reconstructed in the original 1857 style, the walls are punctuated at reg-
ular intervals with gatetowers topped by pyramidal creations of fancifully carved wood-
work. Artful photography can make much of these scenes, but the overall effect isn't
quite as impressive as you might anticipate, partly due to the sheer length and regularity
of the walls.
Mandalay Palace
PALACE
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
