YANGON -- High-rise buildings are encircling Myanmar's most sacred spot, the Shwedgaon Pagoda in Yangon, advancing on this wondrous, ancient hilltop from every direction like a besieging army. Belching fumes, unbroken ranks of cars sound their horns around the temple like war cries.
The dangers facing the pagoda, whose tall gilded stupa marks it as an indelible national and religious icon, are hardly fanciful exaggerations. Experts, including engineers and town planners, warn of threats from both within the monastery complex and outside. Yangon's faithful fear that one day their soaring, shimmering shrine will no longer be visible for all the office blocks and condominiums that are proliferating on the city's once low-rise skyline, and its rich architectural heritage will be eradicated.
