Yangon & Around - Myanmar (Burma) - page 74

(Secretariat; 300 Thein Byu Rd, Kyauktada) This spectacular red-brick complex takes up a
6.5-hectare block but has been off limits to the public since 1962. Built in stages between
1889 and 1905, the Secretariat was the British seat of government for Burma. General
Aung San and six of his colleagues were assassinated here in 1947. The complex also
housed independent Burma's first National Assembly.
When the capital moved to Nay Pyi Taw in 2005 the building, renamed the Ministers
Office, was mostly abandoned and its roof suffered damage during Cyclone Nargis.
A reprieve came in 2011 when the Ministry of Construction selected it as one of five
key Yangon heritage buildings to undergo basic renovations. The plans include a cultural
centre and historical museum which will include Aung San's old office and the room
where he was gunned down.
It's likely to be years before the barbed wire comes down and the public can once
again re-enter the grounds and view the building from the flame tree-shaded lawns sur-
rounding it. A technical study has put the cost of full restoration of the 400,000-sq-ft
building at at least $100 million; the Anawmar Group has so far committed $30 million
to the project.
Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue SYNAGOGUE
; 85 26th St, Pabedan; 10am-noon & 4-6pm) Watched over by trustee Moses Samuels, a
member of Yangon's now tiny community of Jews, the lovingly maintained interior of
this 1896 building contains a bimah (platform holding the reading table for the Torah) in
the centre of the main sanctuary and a women's balcony upstairs. The wooden ceiling
features the original blue-and-white Star of David motif.
The synagogue was once the focal point of an influential community of Sephardic
Jews from India and Baghdad that at its height in the early 20th century numbered 2500.
Very occasionally services are held in the synagogue.
Mr Samuels' son Sammy runs the tour agency Myanmar Shalom
( [e-mail] ); it's best to contact him directly to be sure of gaining ac-
cess to the synagogue or if you have specific questions about the Jews of Yangon.
Strand Hotel HISTORIC BUILDING
MAP GOOGLE MAP
( www.ghmhotels.com ; 92 Strand Rd, Kyauktada; ) Opened in 1901, and run by the famed
Sarkies brothers (they also owned Raffles in Singapore and the Eastern and Oriental in
Penang), this historic hotel hosted the likes of Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell and W
Somerset Maugham in its early years.