Getting To Know Yangon...

Yangon, Myanmar

il 11 novembre

Yangon, located in the southern part of the country on the east bank of the Hlaing River, is the largest city and the industrial and commercial hub of Myanmar. Founded in 1755 by King Alaungpaya, it was the capital city after the British annexation in 1886 (they transliterated its name as Rangoon ) and continued as the capital of a newly independent Burma (1948-2006). A mixture of cultures, communities, and religions, Yangon is a reflection of Burmese history - at once hectic and chaotic and on the move, but where one can find peace and serenity at the same time. Golden pagodas, colonial-era buildings, traditional shop houses, tree-lined avenues, and wooded parks are in stark contrast to the streets swarming with cars, buses, and motorcycles.

                                                                  City Hall

Independence Monument

Supreme Court

The Strand Hotel

Built in 1901 within a restored Victorian mansion when the country was ruled by the British, it became one of Southeast Asia's most prestigious hotels, hosting such guests as Prince Edward and George Orwell and retains its panache to this day.

Sule Pagoda

Yangon is the hub of the national rail, river, road, and air transportation and, as the main center for trade, it handles more than 80% of Myanmar’s foreign commerce. Rice mills and saw mills are located along the river and there is a continual flow of activity; not only are big boats bringing in goods, but small “ferry boats” transport people from one side of the river to the other.

Although Yangon is home to many very beautiful religious sanctuaries, it is the Shwedagon Pagoda that lights up the sky at night and draws visitors and pilgrims alike to its magisterial aura. Historians and archaeologists believe that it was built by the Mon people between the 6th and the 10th centuries, although there is a legend saying that it was constructed more than 2,600 years ago which would make it the oldest stupa in the world. The most sacred place for Buddhists in Myanmar, (its main stupa enshrines sacred relics of the Gautama Buddha as well as the three previous Buddhas), the gold-plated Shwedagon Pagoda rises almost 325 feet high and is topped with a diamond studded spire. Elegant, majestic, and holy, one cannot feel but awed in its presence.

 A lovely finale to my stay in Yangon...a chance to photograph this bride and groom.