The Kyauktawgyi Temple was built during the reign of King Mindon Min (b. 1808 - 1878). The temple is renowned for its giant seated Buddha carved from a single block of pale green marble.

Mandalay; a sprawling city of more than 1 million people; was founded in 1857 by King Mindon to coincide with an ancient Buddhist prophecy. It was believed that Gautama Buddha visited the sacred mount of Mandalay Hill with his disciple Ananda; and proclaimed that on the 2;400th anniversary of his death; a metropolis of Buddhist teaching would be founded at the foot of the hill. Pictures From Asia David Henley