Immortal City: MICHAEL SYMES

AMARAPURA, THE “IMMORTAL CITY,” was a royal capital built in 1783 on the banks of the Irrawaddy River to fulfill prophecies during the reign of the Burmese Konbaung dynasty. The new royal city, constructed on a leafy strip of land on the east side of the river, was prophesied by court astrologers as earthly redemption from the bloodshed caused by the ascension of the king to the Konbaung throne. The palace in the old imperial capital of Ava, just six miles downriver, was dismantled and rebuilt within the fortress of the new royal city, with four Buddhist pagodas protecting its