Information about Amarapura
Amarapura is About 7 miles toward the north of Mandalay, Amarapura, which is well known as the City of Immortals, is one of the noticeable former cities of Myanmar that worth you a day visit on Mandalay Photo Tour When Bodawpaya ascended the throne he founded Amarapura and moved his capital from Innwa. His grandson and successor, Bagyidaw, shifted the capital back to Innwa in 1823. Tharawaddy (1837-46) who succeeded Bagyidaw took the capital back to Amarapura and it remained the seat of the Myanmar king until Mindon established the new capital at Mandalay. The city is laid out in a perfect square with a moat surrounding the brick walls. There were twelve gates, three on each side. Above the gates were wooden pavilions and the banks of the moat were properly lined with bricks.
As most of the palace buildings were dismantled and removed to Mandalay there is very little left of the citadel. Even the fort walls have since been pulled down to quarry bricks for the construction of roads and railway tracks. The remains of only two masonry structures, the Treasury and the Record Office are still to be seen within the city. At each corner within the fort stands a pagoda constructed at the time of founding the city.
Near the south wall, outside the city, is the Patodawgyi Pagoda built by Bagyidaw in 1820. It is of imposing height and the lower three terraces are decorated with marble slabs with scenes from the Jataka stones carved in bold relief. The history of the pagoda is recorded on a big inscription stone and a large bronze bell dedicated to the pagoda is installed within its precincts. To the south of the city is the Taungthaman lake which is spanned by a long wooden bridge built by U Bein, the Mayor. At the far end of this bridge is the Kyauktawgyi pagoda built by King Bagan in 1847 on the model of the Ananda Temple at Bagan. It closely resembles the Ananda in exterior form but it falls short of the latter in construction and interior decoration. Unlike the Ananda which has perfect vaulted roofs, the Kyauktawgyi has wooden rafters and beams which account for the weakness of the structure. There is only one principal image carved out of a single block of Sagyin marble. The walls in the east and south porches are adorned with paintings depicting many religious buildings erected by the donor and other kings in different parts of the country, and scenes from contemporary Myanmar life. An unusual form of architecture is exhibited by the Nagayon, a vaulted pagoda guarded over by a huge dragon within the city.