The Forgotten Ruins of Mrauk U

Spread across the beautiful rolling hills of Rakhine in Western Burma, lies a little known archeological site—the medieval town of Mrauk U. Once the capital of the powerful Arakan empire where Portuguese, Dutch and French traders rubbed shoulders with the scholars of Bengal and Mughal princes on the run, Mrauk U is now a sleepy village where goat herders tend to their animals, farmers work their fields and women fetch water from the wells located among the hundreds of old temples and Buddhist pagodas that the Kings of Mrauk U erected during the city’s heydays. Photo credit: Steffen Korn/Flickr The Mrauk U Kingdom was founded in 1430 by King Min Saw Mon, and Mrauk U remained the capital for more than three hundred and fifty years, until 1785. At its peak, Mrauk U controlled half of Bangladesh and the western part of Lower Burma. Its fame spread to far Europe where it became known as a city of oriental splendor after the Portuguese missionary and traveler, Fray Sebastien Manrique, published a vivid account of the coronation of King Thiri Thudhamma in 1635 and about the Rakhine Court. As the city grew, the King and the rich inhabitants built many Buddhist pagodas and temples. Some are still being used as places of worship, and these are the main attraction of Mrauk-U. In fact, Mrauk U’s rich collection of temples and pagodas is second only to Bagan , but unlike Bagan, Mrauk U isn’t swarmed with tourists. This is because the place is not easy to reach. There’s no airport, and the only way to get there is by a boat, which takes about 7 to 8 hours. One thing that sets Mrauk U apart from other popular archeological sites is the local life here that runs right in the heart of this historical site. Travel writer Robert Reid describes his visit to Mrauk U in a BBC article : Here, the ruins are merely a backdrop to everyday life.