lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

152TEMPLES OF BAGANTemples of Bagan0 1 km123Old BaganEnlargementTo TanKyi (3mi)AyeyarwadyRiverSee EnlargementSee NewBagan Map(p124)See Old BaganMap (P121)Old CityWallOld BaganBagan-Archaeo-logicalMuseum16204 AbeyadanaPahto21327A187YeosinCreek423Palace15SiteBagan-NyaungURd263117 2221Myinkaba11Nagayon2530124Ananda OkKyaungAnawrahta RdNorth PlainUpaliTheinBagan-Chauk RdAnawrahta RdNyaung U RdManu KanShwesandaw Paya,LawkahteikpanPahto19GubyaukgyiNew Bagan5 ThiripyitsayaVillage3To Sittana Paya (0.6mi);Chauk (19mi); Salay (22mi)AB5B9See Nyaung UMap (p116)Ayeyarwady RiverWetkyi-in 328BulediSulamaniPahto610Wetkyi-inCreekCentral PlainThabeikHmaukWest PwasawThuhekanC0 0.5 milesDTo Thetkyamuni (0.6mi);Kondawgyi Pahto (0.6mi);Kyauk Gu Ohnmin (1.2mi)Shwezigon HmyathatPayaUminNyaung UThamiwhetUminBagan NyaungU Golf ClubBaganViewingTowerNyaung U - Kyaukpadaung RdEast PwasawTettheTo Airport (0.6mi);Train Station (2.5mi)3NandamnnyaPahto1228 29MinnanthuKan To TuyanPayathonzu Taung (19mi);14PyathadaKyaukpadaung (19mi);PayaMt Popa (31mi)MinnanthuSouth PlainCKontangyiD1245Bagan scholar Paul Strachan argues inPagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burmathat the city was never abandoned at all.Indeed evidence suggests Bagan continuedas an important religious and cultural centreinto the 14th century and beyond, afterwhich its decay can be blamed on the threewaystruggle between the Shan, Mon andBamar. People began moving back in somenumbers only after the British established apresence in the area in the late 19th century,but by that point the plain of temples hadfallen victim to frequent earthquakes (therewere at least 16 trembles that shook Baganbetween 1174 and the big one in 1975), generalweathering and neglect.CONTROVERSIAL RESTORATIONThe enduring religious significance of Baganis at the heart of the site’s recent transformationfrom piles of picturesque ruins to apractically complete 13th-century city, minusthe buildings, such as palaces, homes andmonasteries, that would have been made ofwood.Dr Bob Hudson (see boxed text, p 157 )describes it as ‘the most radical heritagemanagement project in modern times’, notingthat, as of 2008, at least 1299 Buddhist