in terms of culture and history this is one of the oldest part in the country together with Mon State and Bagan , it is also known as Thayekhetaya or Srikshetra. To travel there from from Yangon is no big deal because the road is quite good and runs partly along the Irrawaddy river.
Pyay was formerly known as Prome and is only about 160km
northwest of Yangon. The area around is one with a very high historical record.
Today it’s a drive through paddy fields through the delta, beside of the road
train travel is possible too.
The train from Yangon passes the city and moves
on to Bagan, this was the first railway line built in Myanmar under the British
in 1877. Situated on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy or Ayeyarwady River and
some interesting pagodas, Pyu archaeological sites and a small museum at Srikshetra and make it an ideal day
trip. Wana stay longer? No problem there is a pretty functioning hotel there.
Pyay or Prome shrine from the 15th Century |
At the Srikshetra Museum |
The kings urne at the museum |
Pyay or Prome old pagoda from the 15th Century |
Present day this is a sleepy town with a small river harbor.
The
founding of the early Pyu
kingdoms are legends
related to a king called
Duttabaung there are some
more extensive
archaeological information. It indicates
that they are a ethnicity
of Tibet who appear to have
settled in the Irrawaddy
valley about the same time
as the Mon but much further
north.
Three major sites are
known until today which are Srikshetra,
Beik-thano near
Taung'dwin-gyi further to
the north, and Halin in the
Shwebo district north of
Mandalay. Continues
excavation and archaeological research uncovered bricks, pottery, coins and
jewellery at Hmaing-maw
south of Kyauk-hse, Bhindaka
near Pyaw-bwe, Chun Hla
north of Shwebo, Mataya
north of Mandalay, and at
Kyaikatha near the delta of
the Sittang River. All this
indicate that Pyu culture
was much more widespread and
more closely related to
earlier Neolithic cultures
as previously thought, it
reveal that the Pyu had an
imposing civilization.
Pyay or Prome countryside |
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