From Mandalay to Mingun via Ava, numerous kingdoms have risen and set along the banks of the Irrawaddy.

Going even further back in history (and following the course of the river on its way to the sea), the most important pages of Myanmar were written in the plain of Bagan, where the Pagan empire once stood.As evidence of this empire, hundreds of temples remain, which today have become a world heritage site.

In about three centuries, in a mad rush of religious construction, something like 13,000 temples were erected in a few square kilometers!

In this unique area in the world, contemporary with Angkor in Cambodia, we stayed for two nights, the time necessary to see at least an infinitesimal of this surreal place. We rented two classic bicycles, preferring them to the electric scooters chosen by the vast majority of tourists, thinking it wouldn't be nice to be stranded, perhaps miles away from the hotel, not knowing how to squash half a word in Burmese. With our battered vehicles we traveled the plain far and wide without any problem, overtaking tourists with damaged scooters!

Below is a list of the names of the main pagodas and places of interest.
Unesco

Shwezigon pagoda 

Impossible to miss, the golden Shwezigon Pagoda resembles Yangon's Shwedagon in its grandeur. Construction work began at the behest of King Anawrahta in 1047, and was finished by his son to guard the Buddha's collarbone and tooth brought from Sri Lanka. At the base of the 4 stairways there are shrines containing large golden Buddhas, and there are also glazed tiles depicting Jataka, folk tales about the life of the historical Buddha. The pagoda is also unique in that it contains images depicting Burmese Nat spirits on the lower terraces of the stupa.

Kyansittha Umin

This temple, located in the shadow of the Shwezigon, contains beautiful frescoes dating back to the period of struggle against the Mongolian civilization.

Ananda Paya 

It was built by order of King Kyanzittha, towards the end of the 11th century AD.

The name of the pagoda is dedicated to Ananda, cousin and disciple of the Buddha, famous for his absolute loyalty to the master.It is considered the greatest architectural masterpiece of the early period, and towards the top there are several terraces where a dizzying 52-meter-high gold-coated spire is placed.At the base of the temple many glazed tiles are painted that tell various scenes of the Jataka.

Inside there are 4 huge Buddhas, and the one you meet in the east is very unusual for Buddhist canons, because while standing, he holds a herbal pill between two fingers to relieve suffering.

Bupaya

It is the most popular religious place in Bagan which, with its unmistakable and slender small golden stupa, rises from a white crenellated terrace, and has a staircase leading to the river. Nearby is the picturesque local market.

Thatbyinnyu temple

It is the tallest of the temples in all of Bagan, and it is also one of the largest in the entire region. With the double cube shape typical of the area, it was built by King Alaungsithu (1112-1167), and stylistically represents the border between early and late style. Curious fact: in the immediate vicinity there is a small temple, built with the bricks set aside for the count of those used for Thatbyunnyu: we are talking about a brick kept every 10,000 employees (just to give an idea of ​​the grandeur of the main sanctuary).

Manuha 

According to legend, it was built at the behest of King Mon of Thaton Manuha, a prisoner of the conquering king Anawrahta.

Inside are contained three great Buddhas who stand tightly, as if symbolizing the imprisonment and narrowness of Manuha himself.

Tiziano Terzani, an italian famous journalist, wrote:
"In the temple of Manuha, just outside the walls of Bagan, there is a huge stone Buddha that the Burmese today indicate as the symbol of their condition. The roof of the temple presses on his head. The walls hug his shoulders. His chest feels like he has no room to breathe. His body is as if pressed into a cell. The Buddha of Manuha has been there for over a thousand years, a prisoner, with his sad smile turned towards the wall. It was built by a king who had lost his freedom and who wanted to remind his people of the pains of that condition. 'We Burmese are like him. Our chests are swollen with bitterness, full of things we cannot say, 'the man next to me whispers, kneeling in prayer. Afraid of his own daring, he gets up and runs away. That's Burma today. "
(In Asia)

We visited other pagodas for the rest of the day, some with unpronounceable names, always marveling at the human genius, and towards sunset we took our seats above some ruins to see a show that made us proud of "being human beings": when the sun went down, the thousand figures formed by the hundreds of pagodas returned a sense of profound stillness, while the last prayers chanted by the monks echoed throughout the plain.