She san daw paya

Shwe San Daw Pagoda was built in Bagan, Myanmar, in 1057 AD by King Anawrahta. It consists of five levels of red brick and a large stupa that is topped with a golden umbrella. The white color you see on the temple now wasn’t always there. Up until 1957, Shwe San Daw Pagoda had retained most of its original design, aside from aging, minor repairs and upkeep. But in 1957, the Pagoda Trustees decided to renovate and modernize the temple by adding plaster embellishments and limewash on the upper half of the temple. When full-scale restorations began in the 1990’s, they restored the plaster and limewash finish instead of removing it to make it look as it had originally. It’s sad that the temple was modified so noticeably, but it still has a rugged, ancient feel to it, so it’s not too terribly bad. In some places you can see where the plaster has come off and shows the red brick underneath, so hopefully they will restore it to its original look soon.