Journey

Myanmar: Kletterverbot on temples

One of the most popular tourist activities in the Tempelebene of Bagan in Myanmar will be prohibited: From the 1. March may be hundreds of years old buildings no longer be climbed, as the Ministry of culture announced.

The cultural heritage of the country had to be protected, it said. The trigger was, apparently, a Video of a corporate event with dancing and singing at a pagoda, the social media outrage sparked. It has been deleted.

The level of Magan, with more than 3000 temples and pagodas is one of the most important collections of old buildings in Southeast Asia. The oldest buildings date from the 11. Century. However, had the Junta of the former military dictatorship, many in the 90s with cement and bricks a makeshift repair. Historians complain that all the rules of authentic restoration have been violated.

The tourism industry criticised the Kletterverbot. The sunset from the terrace of a temple from view, belong to the Highlights of each Bagan Tour, said Win Zaw Cho, Chairman of the Fremdenführergilde in Bagan. “This is the tourists annoy.” The evening crowd regularly hundreds of tourists on the narrow Tempelstufen. As a compromise, accepts the Ministry of education, the five in the temple of the prohibition. They are called Bagan-Pyathatgyi, Shwesandaw, South Guni, North Guni and Thitsar Wadi.

The number of Bagan-visitors since 2011, to the end of the military junta, to 250 000 in the year doubled.

at/is (dpa)