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molly bloom
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Lundenwic
Oct 2001
time: 15:36
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How lovely.
The cash-strapped military dictatorship of Burma/Mayanmar has decided that one way to earn money (other than drug-smuggling, illegal logging, et cetera) is to turn the ancient (would-be) World Heritage site of Pagan into a Saddam-lite tourist taste-free zone, complete with vile new hotels, a complete disregard for the archaeological evidence and ancient Buddhist temples and environment.
" Within the 20 or so square miles (50 square kilometers) known as Pagan (also spelled Bagan) stand the ruins of more than 2,000 buildings—domed pagodas, spires, ziggurats—mostly built between the 11th and 14th centuries.
Archaeologists and historians routinely debate whether to restore ruins for the benefit of visitors. Many argue that half-tumbled walls left untouched are moodily evocative and remain available for future study. The pro-restoration camp contends that while accurate reconstruction disturbs pristine evidence, it does recreate part of history, for better understanding and appreciation.
At Pagan, the military junta has done neither. Where the original architecture is unknown, unskilled restorers often conjure up arbitrary guesses, dressing up the temples and stupas in new red bricks and identical spires, with little eye to historic authenticity. The modern commercial bricks bear no resemblance to the medieval ones. International restoration experts also complain that the new brick adornments are slapped atop rickety old walls without reinforcement—this in an earthquake zone.
Each of the authentic temples typically had its own unique design, but the junta has crowned the remnants of old foundations with standardized cookie-cutter models.
In at least one temple, restorers whitewashed over the wall decorations. In another, a four-armed Vishnu god sprouted six arms. The approach satisfies Buddhists' desire to gain religious merit by remodeling old shrines, as well as the government's parochial assumption that all tourists prefer timeworn buildings that look spiffy and new rather than, er, timeworn.
Cultural scholars can only weep. "Blitzkrieg archaeology," charged one Burmese historian, now retired. Restore the Sistine Chapel like this, and Adam would be sporting tattoos and a nipple ring.
UNESCO, which for 20 years assisted in the conservation of the Pagan monuments, is not associated with the restoration, their offers of corrective assistance disregarded by the Myanmar authorities.
What's worse, the junta is now saddling the sacred site with a divided highway, a golf course (!), and a 200-foot-high (61-meter-high) observation tower. The tower is already under construction, despite critics' objections that it is out of scale and visually intrusive.
Myanmar authorities offer the thin excuse that the tower will keep tourists from climbing on the monuments to get a view. Imagine, it's a military dictatorship, and they can't keep nitwits off the temples? "
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...ravelwatch.html
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04-06-2005 16:44
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