Mrauk U

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Mrauk U (Burmese: မ္ရောက္‌ဦးမ္ရုိ့; MLCTS: mrauk u: mrui.) is an ancient town in Rakhine State, Myanmar. In 1431, King Min Saw Mon established Mrauk U as the capital of the reunited Arakanese Kingdom. The city eventually reached a size of 120,000 in the mid sixteenth century. The city traded with Portugal, the Netherlands, Arabia, Persia and India. At its zenith, Mrauk U controlled half of Bangladesh, modern day Rakhine State and the western part of Lower Burma. During that period, its kings minted coins inscribed in Arakanese (similar to the Burmese language), Kufic and Bengali. As they prospered, they built many pagodas and temples, many of which remain today. The most notable are the Shite-thaung Temple (Temple of 80,000 Images or Temple of Victory), built in 1535 by King Razagri, Htoke-khan-thein (Htoke-khan Ordination Hall) and the Koe-thaung (Temple of 90,000 Images).

The area around Mrauk U ranks second in the production of rice in Myanmar, after the Irrawaddy Delta.

Today, Mrauk U is a major archaeological and tourist site. It is about two days journey from Yangon, or 3-5 hours boat ride from Sittwe.

[edit] Reference

• The Land of the Great Image - Being Experiences of Friar Manrique in Arakan by Maurice Collis