Page 223 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

BAGAN BAGAN AND AROUND 221
an image of the Buddha flanked by his two chief disciples, Sariputra and Mogallana, 5
while many beautiful murals adorn the entrance hall and very dark ambulatory (bring
a torch). Queen Apeyadana, originally from Bengal in India, was possibly a Mahayana
Buddhist, which perhaps explains the presence of murals depicting assorted Mahayana
Bodhisattvas and Hindu gods including Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and Indra.
Nagayon Paya
• Bagan–Chauk Rd, 200m south of the Apeyadana Paya • Daily 8am–6pm
Built during the reign of Kyansittha, the Nagayon Paya is a superb example of
Bagan’s early style at its most flamboyant. The entire temple has a slightly theatrical
look, raised on an eye-catchingly high terrace and done up with a showbiz super-
abundance of mini-stupas, pretty geometrical lattice windows and lots of the
characteristic flame-shaped pediments so beloved of Bagan’s architects – the steeply
pitched double pediment over the main entrance is particularly de trop. Best of all
is the fine curved central tower, raised up on three high terraces and looking like
a trial run for the great tower of the Ananda Paya, the crowning masterpiece of
Kyansittha’s reign.
Inside, there’s the usual shrine-plus-ambulatory layout, with a large gilded standing
Buddha, his head protected by the hood of the naga snake-king Mucalinda (the
temple’s name means “Protected by the Naga Serpent”), with two smaller images
standing to either side. Badly eroded paintings line the dark ambulatory (torch needed)
along with finely carved Buddha statues in niches, although many of the images
formerly located here have now been carted off to the Bagan Archeological Museum.
Soemingyi Kyaung
• Bagan–Chauk Rd, roughly midway between Myinkaba and New Bagan • Daily 8am–6pm
Built in the early thirteenth century, the Soemingyi Kyaung is one of the few surviving
monastic buildings in Bagan, most such foundations having been constructed in wood
and long since vanished. Not much remains of the original monastery, bar a small
courtyard with cells on its north and south sides and a small shrine. The bases of two
staircases (at the courtyard’s southeast and southwest corners) can also be seen. These
would originally have led up to a now-vanished wooden roof, and offer impressive
views over nearby temples, including a huge stupa immediately to the north.
Sein Nyet Ama and Sein Nyet Nyima pagodas
/ • Bagan–Chauk Rd, two-thirds of the way towards New Bagan • Daily 8am–6pm
The so-called “Seinnyet Sisters” – Sein Nyet Ama and Sein Nyet Nyima – are an
impressive pair of contrasting late-period structures standing next to one another close
to the main road. The towering Sein Nyet Ama Pagoda (the ama, or elder, sister) is said
to have been built in the eleventh century by Queen Seinnyet, although stylistically
it looks much later, with its fine curvilinear spire set at the top of four steep terraces.
The adjacent Sein Nyet Nyima Pagoda (nyima meaning “younger sister”) is slightly
smaller, with a massive conical spire decorated with deeply incised rings and traces of
fine carvings and stucco kirtimukhas around the bell below, with Buddha statues sitting
in niches on each side.

Ashe Petleik Paya and Anauk Petleik Paya
/ • Next to the road running down to the Lawkananda Pagoda • Daily
8am–6pm • To reach it, follow the road through the big red arch on the right a few metres past the Floral Breeze Hotel (with an easily
missed sign to the Lawkananda)
The twin Anauk (“Western”) Petleik and Ashe (“Eastern”) Petleik temples are thought
to date from the reign of Anawrahta, making them two of the oldest buildings in
Bagan. Both have suffered massively from the ravages of time, however, and were
largely rebuilt in 1905.