Burma (Myanmar)

Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been home to various ethnic groups, including the Mon, Pyu and Bamar, each with their own distrinctive way of life, language, and belief, including Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and animism. Nearly ninety percent of the population are devote followers of the Theravada Buddhist faith.

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, built by the Mon people, is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar, as it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas. The plain of Pagan is known for its thousands monuments that were built by the Bamar during Pagan's classic era of the 11th to the 13th century. This period has witnessed an intense construction period. Brick scructures still dot the landscape of Pagan as far as the eye can see.