Bagan became a central powerbase in the mid 9th century under King Anawratha, who unified Burma under Theravada Buddhism.
The monuments seem to
overwhelm the landscape. There are about 2,000 of them covering an area
of 16 square miles on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady in central
Myanmar. They are in different sizes and in a bewildering variety of
shapes. They are also in varying stages of preservation and disrepair.
Some of them throb with life, visited by devotees, a few have become
little more than piles of bricks.
