Unless otherwise noted,
photos on this page are
© John Holstein

Just one of the hundreds of visual treats offered inside Anandah Phaya.

Lawkahteipan Temple is in the foreground, and the gilded temple in the background is Ananda Phaya.
(Photo by Barry.)

These are the stairs of Mingala Zedi. The steps are frighteningly steep. Vendors line the approach to most major structures; they have a million tricks to get you to stop and look ("Where you from?" "Lucky money okay?") and a million more to get you to buy.
(Photo by Holstein.)

Inside Ananda Phaya.
(Photo by Holstein.)

Ananda Phaya.
(Photo by Holstein.)

U Phali Thein. This small, humble jewel of Bagan structures with two attractive Buddhas and beautiful murals on its walls is not prominent from the road. It's about a 10-minute bicycle ride from Ananda Temple. Kaliher (whose photos appear in this site for Burma, says: "U Pali Thein, named after the celebrated monk U Pali, is an ordination hall built in the 13th century, with a roof simulating wooden architecture." (Wood was not used in temple construction in that era.) See the resident Buddhas in the "Images of the Buddha" section.
(Photo by Holstein.)

Part of U Phali Thein's inside wall, which is completely covered with such art.
(Photo by Holstein.)

When I visited Ananda Phaya a festival was being held; Shearer told me that when she visited the same temple several days before a festival was being held. Many of the temples in Bagan are still in use, a central part of people's lives. (This one was built in 1090.) Click on the photo to get a closer look and a different view.
(Photo by Holstein.)

From Shwezandaw Phaya. One great thing about Bagan and all of Burma is they let you make safety decisions for yourself. One problem is fools like this photographer get into situations they wish they had been kept out of. The walkway around the upper part of this zedi was about half of a meter wide, there was no railing, and the walls seemed to be nudging the photographer toward the edge, so the photographer (with no history of acrophobia) plastered himself back against the walls and inched his way around the zedi till he found his escape down these steep stairs (clutching the railing with all four limbs, praying to a God whose existence he denies).
(Photo by Holstein.)

Htilominlo, the smaller version of Sulamani Pahto.
(Photo by Schafrick.)

In the background, Sulamani Pahto. In the foreground, Thabeikhmauk. While the former was loaded with tourists and souvenier vendors, Thabeikhmauk was completely deserted. On the second floor I [the intrepid photographer] discovered a nearly complete pitch black passageway that I carefully walked through with my arms extended and my feet feeling out the stonework in front of me. Frightening, but fun.
(Photo by Schafrick.)

Sulamani Pahto from the roof of Tayok-pyi Paya. The structure in the foreground has been totally reconstructed.
(Photo by Schafrick.)

Photo by Schafrick.

Bagan sunset.
(Photo by Schafrick.)

Anyone know which temple this is? Quick contact the editor.
(Photo by Holstein.)