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Mandalay Royal Palace |
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The
large gold-tipped
pyatthat
at the eastern entrance of the Mandalay
Royal Palace (fig.),
opposite of the Mandalay Royal Monument (fig.),
is perhaps the most
impressing structure of the
413-hectare palace compound, which is surrounded by a 64
meter wide moat and 4 circa 8 meter high walls (fig.),
each 2 kilometers long, with a total of 48 bastions and
12 gates. On the palace inner court is a 24 meter tall
watch tower, of which a replica can be found in
Bagan. |
The
watch
tower, which is one
of the few original palace
buildings
remaining today, has a winding staircase on the outside
and is topped by a seven tiered pyatthat. During the
Third Anglo-Burmese War, the British invaded and
ransacked the palace, and captured the royal family.
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Mandalay Royal Palace |
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Mandalay Royal Palace |
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They turned the compound
into Fort Dufferin, named after
the then viceroy of India. During WW II, the palace was
turned into a supply depot by the Japanese Imperial Army
and was subsequently bombed by Allied Forces.
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