Ananda Temple

Pagan, Burma
around 1105, restored in 1783

Ananda was built in 1105 by King Kyanzittha, restored in 1783, and restored again after the 1975 earthquake. Its walls are periodically whitewashed, and its spires were gilded in 1990. One of the most admired temples in Pagan, it is shaped like a Greek (equal-armed) cross (next page). Each arm of the cross is a hall that is attached to the temple's central mass. Through each hall towards the center there is a corresponding shrine, and this arrangement is repeated on all four sides of the temple.