Bagan – An Introduction
Bagan is an archaeological site, a 42-square kilometer plain dotted with thousands of temples and pagodas built over 8 centuries ago by Bagan kings who ruled from here. Bagan’s golden days happen to coincide with the period where Myanmar transited from Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism. The Bagan kings, who became believers of the latter faith, were instrumental in building the numerous temples and pagodas that symbolized the religion. Bagan then went on to become a major center for Theravada Buddhism.
As with many great kingdoms of the past, Bagan saw its decline, after having flourished for some 200 years. That was in the late 13th century. The temple sites have been left untouched for the next few centuries. What is amazing is that many of these temples still stand tall today, despite having gone through the wear of time and a severe earthquake in 1975 (reconstruction work took place after the earthquake). On the other hand, little or nothing is left of the royal palaces from that era. The explanation given is that religious buildings were made of permanent building materials while residences, including palaces were made of wood.
Some people like to compare Bagan to the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but I do not wish to do that. These wonders have been created by different people, in different circumstances and they went through their own course in their own history. Comparing one against the other will not do either one justice. As a visitor, I visited them at two very different times, some 7 years apart. I was bringing a different set of sentiments (and I have no control over that) on my visits and they are simply two different experiences on their own.
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