Myanmar - Yangon - Karaweik Hall

An unforgettable scenery of Karaweik Hall, Yangon, Myanmar.

Sent by Thitar from Yangon, Myanmar.

Karaweik (Burmese: ကရဝိက် ဖောင် [kəɹəweɪʔ pʰàʊɰ̃]) or Karaweik Hall is a structure and landmark on the eastern shore of Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon, Burma.

The word karaweik comes from Pali karavika (ကရဝီက), which is a mythical bird with a melodious cry.

The structure commissioned by General Ne Win, who was inspired by a Burmese pavilion displayed at the Expo '70 in Osaka, which in turn was modeled after the Pyigyimon royal barge used by Mandalay’s royal court (read more).

Mandalay, Burma, 1995

Mandalay, Burma, 1995. Taken from the book POTRAITS STEVE McCURRY.

Sent by Ellen, a postcrosser from Netherlands. Thanks for the beautiful stamps and stickers.

Myanmar - Mount Popa

Mount Popa, of volcanic origin, dramatically rising to 1520m. from the surrounding plain and picturesquely festooned with vegetation, the most important place for nat worship in Burma, 50 kms. southeast of Bagan.

The second of the two postcards sent by Ei from Yangon, Myanmar.

Mount Popa (Burmese: ပုပ္ပားတောင်, MLCTS: puppa: taung, IPA: [pòpá tàʊɰ̃]) is a dormant volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and located in central Myanmar in the region of Mandalay about 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Bagan (Pagan) in the Pegu Range. It can be seen from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River as far away as 60 km (37 mi) in clear weather. Mount Popa is a pilgrimage site, with numerous Nat temples and relic sites atop the mountain.

The name Popa is believed to come from the Pali/Sanskrit word puppha meaning flower (read more).

Myanmar - Shwe Dagon Pagoda

The Shining Winking wonder - Shwe Dagon.
"Shwe Dagon Pagoda" has to be one of the magnificent monuments on Earth. When Shwedagon Hti (Umbrella) was repaired, the gold bud at its tip called the "Diamond Bud" was found to be crowned with a 76 carat solitaire diamond and encrusted with 4351 smaller ones (total weight 1800 carats)

The first of the two postcards sent by Ei from Yangon in Myanmar.

The Shwedagon Pagoda (Burmese: ရွှေတိဂုံဘုရား, MLCTS: shwe ti. gon bhu. ra:, IPA: [ʃwèdəɡòʊɰ̃ pʰəjá]; Mon: ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်), officially named Shwedagon Zedi Daw (Burmese: ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, [ʃwèdəɡòʊɰ̃ zèdìdɔ̀], lit. 'Golden Dagon Pagoda'), and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a gilded stupa located in Yangon, Myanmar.

The Shwedagon is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar, as it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. These relics include the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa, and eight strands of hair from the head of Gautama.

Built on the 51-metre-high (167 ft) Singuttara Hill, the 112 m (367 ft) tall pagoda stood 170 m (560 ft) above sea level and dominates the Yangon skyline. Yangon's zoning regulations, which cap the maximum height of buildings to 127 metres (417 feet) above sea level (75% of the pagoda's sea level height), ensure the Shwedagon's prominence in the city's skyline (read more).