Smithsonian - 12.2019

December 2019 | SMITHSONIAN.COM 37

stupas. But while Bagan draws more than a quar-

ter-million foreign visitors a year, barely 2,000 for-

eigners made their way to Mrauk U in 2016—only

about six a day.

Two elements make Mrauk U unique: exquisite

Buddhist temples constructed largely from stone,

and a network of military defenses that utterly trans-

formed the hilly, fl ood-prone landscape into a for-

tress city. “There is nothing comparable to it,” says

Massimo Sarti, a Unesco consultant hydrologist from

Italy, who is helping to support documentation of

INTACT RUINS

KOTHAUNG

PALACE SITE

SANTIKAN MOSQUE

SHITTHAUNG

Sit

tw

e (^) t
o (^) Y
an
go
n
Hi
gh
wa
y
1/2 MILE
Library
Temple
Stupa
THAILAND
200 MI.
MYA NMAR
Yangon
AREA OF
DETAIL
INDIA CHINA
LAOS
50 MI.
RA
KH
IN
E
ST
AT
E
MYANMAR
Mrauk U
Sittwe
Bay of
Bengal
SO
UR
CE
S:^
BO
B^ H
UD
SO
N,
M
AS
SIM
O^
SA
RT
I,^ J
AC
QU
ES
LE
ID
ER
,^ N
YE
IN
LW
IN,
TH
EIN
TU
N^
AU
NG
,^ W
IN
SE
IN,
KY
AW
NY
I^ N
YI^
TH
ET
,^ A
UN
G^
MY
O^
TH
U,
YI
N^ M
IN^
TU
N,
AU
NG
W
IN^
KY
AW

.^ H

TU

N^

AY

E,^

SA

W^

AU

NG

,^ M

AU

NG

M

AU

NG

NA

N^ N

WE

,^ K

YA

W^

SO

E^ H

TU

N,

SA

N^ M

IN^

AU

NG

,^ T

HI

HA

AU

NG

,^ T

HA

N^

MY

IN

T,^

BA

M

YA

ING

,^ M

AR

CH

20

19 ,

R

EA

SE

AR

CH

GA

TE

.N

ET

CITY ON

THE EDGE

The extensive ruins of

Mrauk U, dating from

the 1400s to 1700s,

are threatened

today by neglect

and armed confl ict.