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All Myanmar (Burma) Inn Wa Inwa

Inwa

A grand imperial capital left to fall into magnificent ruin.

Inn Wa, Myanmar (Burma)

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joel
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Maha Aungmye Bonzan (Me Nu Oak Kyaung) Monastery   leiris
Maha Aungmye Bonzan (Me Nu Oak Kyaung) Monastery Side View   Hans A Rosbach on Flickr
Maha Aungmye Bonzan (Me Nu Oak Kyaung) Monastery Detail   Hans A Rosbach on Flickr
Bagaya Kyaung (Teak Monastery)   leiris
Yadanasini Pagoda (Yadana Hsemee Pagoda)   leiris
Nanmyin Tower (Leaning Tower of Inwa), Pre-Restoration   leiris
Nanmyin Tower, After Restoration   momo on Flickr
More Stupa Action   leiris
Cow Checking Out a Stupa   KX Studio on Flickr
Old Swimming Pool   Jason Eppink on Flickr
City Walls   Hybernator on Wikipedia
  RonnyTom70 / Atlas Obscura User
The ruins of Leytatgyi Kyaung (Four Storey Monastery)   RonnyTom70 / Atlas Obscura User
Ruins of pagodas scattered across Inwa.   RonnyTom70 / Atlas Obscura User
  RonnyTom70 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

For a total of 360 years spread over the course of five centuries, Inwa was the capital of successive Burmese kingdoms. Then, in 1839, it was leveled by earthquakes and subsequently abandoned. The wheel of fortune turns on us all, human and city alike.

Inwa — also spelled Innwa, known in classical Pali as Ratanapura ("City of Gems"), and known locally as Awa or Ava — was originally founded in 1365. Located at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Myitnge Rivers on an artificial island formed by a canal connecting the two rivers upstream from their natural point of meeting, Inwa was built to be the capital of a newly unified kingdom that came to be known, appropriately enough, as the Kingdom of Ava. And so it remained for 190 years, serving not only as the seat of power in Upper Burma, but also as the center of a flourishing period of Burmese literature.

In 1555 the Kingdom of Ava fell. However, the city of Inwa and its political prestige lived on, serving as the capital of all of Burma from 1599 to 1613, then again from 1635 to 1752, then again from 1765 to 1783. Then again from 1821 to 1842.

The aforementioned series of devastating earthquakes struck on March 22, 1839; the entire region was affected, but the capital was hit particularly hard. Although Inwa had been sacked, destroyed, and rebuilt several times over its long history, this time it would not be so. The city was not rebuilt, the capital was officially moved to Amarapura on February 10, 1842, and Inwa was left to the elements.

The former imperial city is now a rural area where livestock graze and farmers raise crops amidst the remains of pagodas, palace towers, monasteries, and massive city walls that once formed the outline of a seated lion. One of the monasteries — Bagaya Kyaung, a towering structure built entirely of teak — is still in use as a monastery and school today. Local guides provide tours of the site via horse-drawn carts.

Related Tags

Ruins Abandoned Pagodas Temples Ghost Towns Palaces Towers Stupas

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Added By

leiris

Edited By

hrnick, RHyzer, RonnyTom70

  • hrnick
  • RHyzer
  • RonnyTom70

Published

February 11, 2016

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Sources
  • http://www.go-myanmar.com/inwa-ava-innwa
  • http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-mandalay/innwa.htm
  • http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2013/02/inwa-near-mandalay-myanmar/
  • http://www.myanmarburma.com/attraction/543/monasteries-of-inwa
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inwa
Inwa
Inn Wa
Myanmar (Burma)
21.858275, 95.984566

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