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Nay Pyi Taw
Nay Pyi Taw is totally
unlike any other place
you’ll see in this richly
hued, exotic, sometimes
chaotic country
Looking back at
Myanmar’s history, the
move to Nay Pyi Taw
probably shouldn’t have
come as such a surprise
– the country’s many
rulers have shifted capitals
more than 30 times
since the advent in 848
of the Bagan Kingdom
and Myanmar’s “Golden
Age’’. (Bagan also enjoyed
the longest tenure as
capital – 447 years.) There
followed a procession
of others: Sagaing, Ava,
Prome, Pegu, Toungoo,
Amarapura…
Mandalay was the last
royal capital seized by the
British, after which the
seaport of Moulmein filled
the bill until Rangoon,
now known as Yangon,
was made the capital in
1862. These relocations
were undertaken for a
variety of reasons: to
mark the beginning of a
new dynasty, for strategic
and security reasons, to
propitiate the spirits and
follow the counsel of court
astrologers.
Capital
Moves
