Thursday, December 21, 2006

Pagoda balancing on a hair

Kyaik-htiyo which means "pagoda upon an hermit's head" is the name of an extraordinary pagoda in Myanmar, which is said to have been built 2,400 years ago. The pagoda rests on top of a large rock, which has been completely gilded in gold, and which in turn balances precariously on the edge of a much larger rock. I missed this miracle from Myanmar when Tinselman pointed to it back in april:
You should know about this pagoda in Myanmar for any number of amazing reasons. First, it sits on a big rock. Second, as you can plainly see, the rock itself is totally gilded in gold and looks like a shot out of a some spectacular nonexistent sci-fi film.

More importantly still, the great rock of the Kyaik-htiyo pagoda is balancing on the precipice of a larger rock. And when I say balancing, I mean really balancing; the area of contact between the two rocks is unbelievably small. So please don't push...

However, barring any natural disasters, the pagoda probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The stone hasn't moved for hundreds of years; perhaps the single hair of Lord Buddha, upon which the pagoda is erected, is somehow keeping this gargantuan rock from slipping away...?








some more pics here and here

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