The city of Pagan (Bagan also called) is one of the former capital of Myanmar, and was founded in the year 849. It was the capital of the Pagan Empire, where Theravada Buddhism was the main religion. This can be seen in the huge number of temples which is now still in Pagan; Pagan has the largest collection of Buddhist temples, stupas and ruins in the world.
In 1287 the city was abandoned by its inhabitants, who left the city in fear because the Mongols were coming to conquer the city. Perhaps partly because the city was abandoned when the Mongols were coming, there has been inflicted by the Mongols little damage to the city itself. There are now thousands of temples, often in relatively good condition. An earthquake in 1975 were many of the temples damage, which could not always be repaired.
I am Maarten Verhees. The focus of my photographs is on the variation of architecture, animals and people. I try to capture the essence of local places in photographs... Read more…