Old photos of Burma

Burmese girl

I discovered only recently that the Gertrude Bell, the near legendary British adventurer, archeologist, administrator, and spy (apparently to be played by Angelina Jolie in an upcoming Ridley Scott bio-pic) - spent a couple of weeks in Burma in early1903. Very little survives from the trip except a few letters home and this photograph, of a "Burmese girl", taken by Gertrude Bell herself.(By -Thant Myint-U)

The photograph is of the monastery in the 1890s.

Delighted that the United States government will be providing funding and technical expertise to help restore the beautiful Shwenandaw Monastery in Mandalay.
(see: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/mandalay-upper-myanmar/7625-us-to-fund-restoration-of-historic-mandalay-monastery.html)

The Shwenandaw Monastery is a place of considerable historical importance. It was originally a (secular) part of the palace and included the private apartments of King Mindon. It was there that the king died in 1878, surrounded by his many wives and daughters, attended by his German physician Dr Marfels, and having made his fateful decision not to appoint single heir. King Thibaw on coming to the throne decided the building was inauspicious and moved it from the palace to outside the walls. The remainder of the old city was either destroyed by the British or destroyed during World War 2. Only the Shwenandaw monastery remains.

Very regrettably, the renovation work done during the 1990s left much to be desired, to say the least. I believe the government today is more than aware of past mistakes and with American assistance I'm hopeful this can be model conservation effort. The photograph is of the monastery in the 1890s.(By-Thant Myint-U)

The photograph is of David Ben-Gurion, President Mahn Win Maung, and U Nu at Government House. Photo: Israeli President Shimon Peres will visit Myanmar in 2014, the first visit by an Israeli leader in decades. (http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/7950-shimon-peres-to-visit-myanmar-next-year.html) This will be Shimon Peres's second official trip, his first was, amazingly enough, 56 years ago, when as Director-General of the Israeli Defense Ministry he accompanied Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. I hope he will follow in the footsteps of Israel's founder and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who visited for 16 days in 1961 and wore Burmese dress (and had his other officials do the same). The photograph is of David Ben-Gurion, President Mahn Win Maung, and U Nu at Government House.

President Sao Shwe Thaik and Army Chief General Smith Dun

70 years ago this week: With communist ("White Flag" and "Red Flag") PVO, and "Mujahideen" insurrections in full swing, President Sao Shwe Thaik and Army Chief General Smith Dun inspect the troops in front of the Rangoon Corporation building. Martial law had just been declared.

At the time, Karen, Kachin and Chin battalions were fighting Burmese communist and PVO militias up and down the Irrawaddy valley. It was also a time (the only time) when the government of Burma was genuinely multi-ethnic, with a Shan president, a Burman Prime Minister (U Nu), and a Karen Army Chief of Staff, the Sandhurst-educated General Smith Dun, who would soon be replaced by his deputy, Major-General Ne Win.(By- Thant Myint-U)

Sule Pagoda

Rangoon's Sule Pagoda Road in the 1930s with the old "Maison Continental" close to where the Traders Hotel is today. The Maison Continental (together with the Vienna Cafe at the corner of Phayre and Merchant) were then the city's main European restaurants. The renowned "Smart and Mookerdum" bookstore (a favourite of George Orwell, U Thant, JS Furnivall and many others for decades) was nearby.( By Than Myint -U)

Wingaba about a hundred years ago.

Jews

One of Myanmar's least known minority communities are the Myanmar Jews. The first recorded Jew in Myanmar (Burma) was a man named Solmon Gabirol who served as an officer in the Burmese army in the 1760s (under King Alaungpaya). Many Jews who arrived in the 19th century were Baghdadi Jews.

At its peak in the 1930s there were more than 2,000 Jews in Rangoon alone (out of a total population of 400,000). The Sofaers were one of the leading Jewish families. David Sofaer served briefly as mayor and the beautiful Sofaer building still stands at the corner of Pansodan (Phayre Street) and Merchant Street. The photograph is of an early Sofaer business along Merchant Street.( By Than Myint-U)