Mahamuni Paya - one of the most famous temples in Mandalay |
Golden roofs of Mahamuni Paya |
Southern entrance to Mahamuni Paya |
Mahamuni Paya |
Gallery leading to the heart of the temple, Mahamuni Paya |
Gold everywhere, Mahamuni Paya |
မဟာမုနိဘုရားကြီး |
Mahamuni - the Great Sage - trophy of war in 1784 |
Devotees adding gold leaf to the Mahamuni image |
မဟာမုနိဘုရားကြီး |
An ancient sculpture, the Mahamuni Buddha dates from the 1st C. AD |
Some believe the Mahamuni Buddha dates from 554 BC during the Buddha's lifetime |
The Mahamuni Buddha is covered in tons of pure gold applied one leaf at a time |
Devote Burmese Buddhist applying additional gold leaf to the Mahamuni Buddha image |
The gold leaf covering is nearly 6 inches thick! |
A fortune in pure gold in what is otherwise a poor country |
We were allowed up on the platform with the Buddha |
Gold encrusted Mahamuni Buddha in royal regalia |
Beneath all the gold si a 6.5 ton bronze statue |
Monk praying to the Great Sage |
Jeweled crown of the Mahamuni Buddha |
Golden face of the Mahamuni Buddha |
Buddhist Monk, Mahamuni Paya |
Mahamuni Paya under a blue sky |
6 Khmer bronzes, seized from Angkor by Siam in 1431, were looted from Mrauk U (Arakan) with the Mahamuni Buddha in 1784 |
The bronzes had a turbulent history changing hands several times during wars 1431-1784 |
Bronze image of the Hindu god Shiva, Mahamuni Paya |
Khmer bronze lion from Arakan, Mahamuni Paya |
Khmer statue of Airavata, the three-headed elephant |
Khmer guardian lion in the Arakan collection, Mahamuni Paya |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Flat bell, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Bell, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Courtyard of Mahamuni Paya with a nice blue sky |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya courtyard and golden roof, Mandalay |
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Naga, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Naga, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |
Jeweled orb, vane and hti on top of Mahamuni Paya |
Pyat-that roof, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay |