Mandalay

Mandalay was the last capital of Myanmar before the British took over and it still has great importance as a cultural centre. Historically, it is the most Myanmar of the country’s large cities, a place where you’ll come close to the ‘heart’ of Myanmar. Mandalay still has cultural and religious significance and its Buddhist monasteries are among the most important in the country- about 60% of all the monks in Myanmar reside in the Mandalay area. The city of Mandalay took its name from the "Mandalay Hill" which is situated to the north-east of the town. The classical name of the city is Ratanapura, which is commonly shortened to Ratnapun (pronounced Yadanabon). It is a city that understandably hugs its past, even to a great extent, lives in the past, and reluctantly and certainly not very enthusiastically, accepts the irrevocably lost status of the first city of Myanmar. On the day King Thibaw was forced to surrender to the British Colonialist, old Mandalay wept and, more or less died. Even today, there are some octogenarians and nonagenarians, who knew King Mindon and Thibaw, who worked in the palace in some capacity or the other and where eyes were filled with tears when they think of the city that was. Mandalay and anything’s of interest in it date from the middle of the 19th century, and unlike Bagan which is ten centuries old. If you want to hear the best Myanmar spoken, it is to Mandalay that you have to turn. In addition it is the home and guardian of the best traditions of Myanmar music and dance. Mandalay might, and certainly does, think of its departed glories and its prestige lost in a heart-broken way, but it is proud of being the fountainhead of Myanmar's spiritual life, Mandalay probably would not be so vibrant without its Buddhism, its thousands of Buddhist priests - - the yellow-clad members of the Buddhist clergy – its monasteries and its famous pagodas. Yangon may be many things, but Mandalay is Myanmar's heart of traditional culture. Mandalay, which is roughly 66 square kilometers in area, and with a population of 880,000 is second only to Yangon in size and importance and about 622 kilometers due north of Yangon. The only surviving example of this type of architecture, with magnificent wood-carving embellishing the whole structure was destroyed and lost forever, creating a definite and painful void. Mandalay lost a little of its soul and certainly a good bit of its glory, a monument of historical value and, certainly, a star tourist attraction when the palace was bombed out. The city which crowds round the famous Mandalay Palace grounds and forts caters for the entomologist and the student of manners in a way that, surprises even the most sophisticated travelers. You will see Mandalay as a near-perfect geometrical pattern, and its streets cutting at right angles – physically, a well-laid-out city. The long and broad streets running east-west are, curiously enough alphabetically named and the roads running from north to south are named numerically as in the American system. Mandalay does not have the first tempo of Yangon, and life is more leisurely, but its quiet ways add a quality of peace to its enchantment. Towards the east, there are the blue Shan hills which give the city a physical dignity and to the west there is Myanmar’s life stream, the mighty Irrawaddy flowing by. Interesting Places in Mandalay: Mandalay palace, Mandalay Hill, Shwe Nandaw Monastery, Atumashi Monastery, Kuthodaw pagoda, Mahamuni pagoda, Gold leaf making, wood carving, marble stone carving, bronze making and tapestry.