Gleaming in gold and decorated with diamonds, the huge Shwedagon Pagoda (also Shwe Dagon Pagoda or Shwedagon Paya) in Yangon
Legend has it that the Shwedagon Pagoda is 2,500 years old, but archaeologists estimate it was first built by the Mon sometime between the 6th and 10th centuries ( during the Bagan period). The pagoda emerges from legend into history in 1485, which is the date of an incription near the top of the eastern stairway that tells the story of Shwedagon in three languages (Pali, Mon, and Burmese). It was around this time that the tradition of gilding the stupa began. Queen Shinsawbu provided her own weight in gold (fortunately she was a lightweight at 40kg), which was made into gold leaf and used to cover the surface of the stupa.
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Photo credit: © Mike Stone / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: asia, buddhism, buddhist, burma, cover, dagon, holy, icon, magazine, myanmar, pagoda, religion, religous, shwe, shweda, shwedagon, site, tourist, yangoon
