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The Dhamayangyi pagoda is the largest and the most solid pagodas of Bagan and it looks like a pyramid.

The biggest temple in Bagan, Dhamayangyi was built by the King named Narathu who was famed for his cruelty killing his own father, brother and wife, who was an Indian emperor's daughter. Narathu (1118–1171) was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma from 1168 to 1171. He ascended to the throne by murdering his father King Alaungsithu and his elder brother Min Shin Saw. To atone for the sins, he built the largest of all the Pagan temples, the Dhamayangyi.

King Narathu's reign lasted only for three years and he was able to carry out building such a big temple in such short period but the temple is still unfinished.

The king was not only cruel to his intimates but also for his citizens as he ordered to cut the masons if he found out a pin can be pushed between two bricks. The workmanship of the masons is the best in Bagan. According to legends, afterward, he was assassinated by Indians as revenge of their princess.

It is said that if on the king's visit to the site, he was able to stick a pin between the bricks, the mason in question would have his hands cut off prior to being executed

However, the new king could not control his violent temper, and killed a queen of his with his bare hands in one of his episodes of violence. The queen was a daughter of Pateikkaya, a tributary kingdom in the west in Bengal or near present-day Chin State.

In traditional Myanmar chronicles, it was mentioned that the Kalar / Pateikkaya princess who was offered to king AlaungSithu and was taken into Narathu’s harem on his accession, was killed because had displeased him with her hygiene rituals and she avoided as Narathu did not use water after toilet.

Kalar / Pateikkaya princess

Not surprisingly Natathu himself met a bloody end. The chief of Pateikkaya now sent a group of eight assassins, disguised as Brahmin astrologers in 1171. The eight managed to gain an audience with the king while hiding their swords underneath their robes. They quickly fell the king. When the palace guards rushed in, they all committed suicide.

For years the horse cart was the only option for visitors to Bagan but tourists are increasingly exploring temples on electronic bikes. Visitor numbers have boomed in the intervening years – Myanmar welcomed 554,531 visitors through Yangon in 2012, up from 212,468 a decade earlier.Bagan has no shortage of horse carts. Horse carts by the dozens stand ready to provide clip-clop transportation around pagoda-rich Bagan. Every shady spot, every hotel, every outdoor tea shop, every pagoda courtyard serves as a horse-cart taxi stand.

Soemingyi Paya

Bagan is one of Myanmar's most arid regions. This is an area known as the central dry zone of Myanmar and only a short distance from the banks of the river and the city state it once supported, water is as scarce as in any semi-arid region in the world.And because of over grazing, population increase, a severe climate with limited rainfall and the destruction of natural habitat, large swathes of the landscape are denuded and increasingly hot.The newly planted trees are not only expected to halt land erosion and desertification but also to provide controlled amounts of firewood, better grazing for their animals from secondary growth and community areas.

Poinsetia

Poinsetia Tamarind tree

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) (from Arabic: tamar hindi, "Indian date") is a tree in the family Fabaceae indigenous to tropical Africa. The tamarind tree produces edible, pod-like fruit which are used extensively in cuisines around the world. Other uses include traditional medicines and metal polishes. The wood can be used in carpentry. Because of the tamarind's many uses, cultivation has spread around the world in tropical and subtropical zones.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)

After a meal in Bagan, you may be presented with a small sweet. As you take a bite, you’ll notice it is indeed sugary but also slightly sour. This is called a “tamarind toffee” or a “tamarind flake” and it is the local specialty of Bagan. It is not only in restaurants that you might encounter tamarind flakes—though this is most likely—it is also typical to see huge piles of taffy-like tamarind pulp on the side of the road ready for production. The pulp is rolled through antique cylinders and cut out with cookie cutters; a quick dusting of sugar and they are ready to eat.

You’ll also find them at markets wrapped in paper in piles of 5, or sometimes in bags. Eat as many as you can while in Bagan because you are unlikely to find them anywhere else in Myanmar. Indeed, you’ll struggle to find them elsewhere in the world. But the fruit of the tamarind is one of the greatest sources of sour taste in cooking. It is broadly found in the cooking of India, Asia, and African dishes.

Soemingyi Paya

The ruined complex of the Soemingyi Monastery in on the road between Myinkaba and New Bagan. It is one of the few brick-built monasteries on the Bagan plain - most were built of wood and did not survive. Soemingyi Pagoda was built by the Senior Queen or Lady Soemingyi during the 12th Century. The structure of this pagoda has a square base with many terraces leading to the top part, which is a cylindrical dome on top, which is the main shrine. To hold up the weight of the structure, sandstone blocks hold each corner giving more enforcement to it. There are many glazed plaques describing the animals, flowers and the lifestyles of the Bagan people.

Toddy palm is a common name for several species of palms used to produce palm wine. Species so used and named include also Borassus flabellifer, the Asian palmyra palm, toddy palm, sugar palm, or Cambodian palm, native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, in the Indomalaya ecozone. It is a palm tree, one of the sugar palm group.

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu & InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound: Mar Mar Aye - Burma Traditional Music