Mandalay - Mahamuni Paya (Gold Buddha)

Mahamuni Paya - one of the most famous temples in Mandalay	Golden roofs of Mahamuni Paya	Southern entrance to Mahamuni Paya	Mahamuni Paya
Gallery leading to the heart of the temple, Mahamuni Paya	Gold everywhere, Mahamuni Paya	မဟာမုနိဘုရားကြီး	Mahamuni - the Great Sage - trophy of war in 1784
Devotees adding gold leaf to the Mahamuni image	မဟာမုနိဘုရားကြီး	An ancient sculpture, the Mahamuni Buddha dates from the 1st C. AD	Some believe the Mahamuni Buddha dates from 554 BC during the Buddha's lifetime
The Mahamuni Buddha is covered in tons of pure gold applied one leaf at a time	Devote Burmese Buddhist applying additional gold leaf to the Mahamuni Buddha image	The gold leaf covering is nearly 6 inches thick!	A fortune in pure gold in what is otherwise a poor country
We were allowed up on the platform with the Buddha	Gold encrusted Mahamuni Buddha in royal regalia	Beneath all the gold si a 6.5 ton bronze statue	Monk praying to the Great Sage
Jeweled crown of the Mahamuni Buddha	Golden face of the Mahamuni Buddha	Buddhist Monk, Mahamuni Paya	Mahamuni Paya under a blue sky
6 Khmer bronzes, seized from Angkor by Siam in 1431, were looted from Mrauk U (Arakan) with the Mahamuni Buddha in 1784	The bronzes had a turbulent history changing hands several times during wars 1431-1784	Bronze image of the Hindu god Shiva, Mahamuni Paya	Khmer bronze lion from Arakan, Mahamuni Paya
Khmer statue of Airavata, the three-headed elephant	Khmer guardian lion in the Arakan collection, Mahamuni Paya	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Flat bell, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Bell, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay
Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay
Courtyard of Mahamuni Paya with a nice blue sky	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya courtyard and golden roof, Mandalay	Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay
Naga, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Naga, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay	Jeweled orb, vane and hti on top of Mahamuni Paya	Pyat-that roof, Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay