Alex Stoen
The Unfinished Mingun Pagoda (Mandalay, Myanmar 2013)
A local Burmese woman stands by the southern entrance to the Mingun pagoda, cracked during an earthquake in 1839. It was built to house a relic of the Buddha, the brick structure was originally intended to be over 150 meters tall, but a series of factors impeded its completion such as technological challenges associated with such a large project, insufficient labor, because many of the slaves brought over for the construction project escaped, and probably most importantly, a prophecy went around in the Kingdom saying that once the pagoda was finished, the Kingdom would come to an end. I sure this may have led to a deliberate slowdown of the project!
When the King died in 1819 the project was indefinitely stopped and none of his successors resumed work on it. In front of the pagoda facing the river are the remains of two giant Chinthe lions about 29 meters high, guarding the temple… I can't help but wonder how impressive the finished project would have looked like if it had been completed…
© 2018 Alex Stoen, All rights reserved.
No Group Invites/Graphics Please.
Follow me on 500px * Google+ * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram .
The Unfinished Mingun Pagoda (Mandalay, Myanmar 2013)
A local Burmese woman stands by the southern entrance to the Mingun pagoda, cracked during an earthquake in 1839. It was built to house a relic of the Buddha, the brick structure was originally intended to be over 150 meters tall, but a series of factors impeded its completion such as technological challenges associated with such a large project, insufficient labor, because many of the slaves brought over for the construction project escaped, and probably most importantly, a prophecy went around in the Kingdom saying that once the pagoda was finished, the Kingdom would come to an end. I sure this may have led to a deliberate slowdown of the project!
When the King died in 1819 the project was indefinitely stopped and none of his successors resumed work on it. In front of the pagoda facing the river are the remains of two giant Chinthe lions about 29 meters high, guarding the temple… I can't help but wonder how impressive the finished project would have looked like if it had been completed…
© 2018 Alex Stoen, All rights reserved.
No Group Invites/Graphics Please.
Follow me on 500px * Google+ * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram .