No single photo or set of photos can do justice to the enormous Schwedagon Pagoda. I’m including this very abbreviated description taken from the Internet to convey to you the immensity as well as the intricacies of the pagoda’s overall structure.
The pagoda emerges from a platform covering over 5 hectares on a hill 58m above sea level and can be seen from anywhere in the city. The citizens of Yangon literally live out their everyday lives in its shadow. It is beloved by Buddhists and its historical beginning goes back at least 2,500 years.
The base platform is full of glittering, colorful stupas, with a huge main stupa as the center of attention. The main stupa is completely solid and every inch is covered in gold with the upper parts studded with diamonds and other jewels.
The main stupa is supported on a square plinth that stands 6.4m (20 feet) above the base platform. On this raised platform there many smaller stupas. With the permission of the pagoda trustees, men may climb onto the plinth terrace to meditate.
The spire at the top of the main stupa has seven tiers. It is made of iron but covered in gold plates and jewels. The highest tier carries a gold-plated flag that turns with the wind.and is studded with 1100 diamonds totaling 278 carats, plus 1,383 other precious stones.
At the top of the spire is a diamond orb - a hollow gold sphere studded with 4,351 diamonds totaling 1800 carats. On its top rests a single, 76-carat diamond.
The large platform that supports the great stupa contains a a tremendous number and variety of other stupas, prayer halls, sculptures and shrines. The stupas commemorating the day of the week of one’s birth are the most visited.
One must always walk around the stupas clockwise, so visitors take a left from whichever of the four magnificent entrances to the main platform they've chosen.
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