Mr. William H. Roberts was on a quest to visit ancient Buddhist temples in the country of Burma in 1931. This country is now called Myanmar; it is in southeast Asia, south of China, west of Thailand and Laos, and east of India and Bangladesh. "The 5,000 Temples of Pagan: Burma's Sacred City is a Place of Enchantment in the Midst of Ruins," National Geographic Magazine, October, 1931, is his account of that journey.
He writes, "As soon as one has surmounted the slope (in Mandalay, the ancient capital), he finds himself in the midst of a veritable forest of temples and pagodas, large and small, nearly perfect or almost unrecognizable because of decay" (p. 445). The largest and most beautiful is the Anada, all white with a 168-foot tall golden spire: "Some 1,500 plaques of tile, arranged in bands around the exterior walls of the four terraces of this matchless temple, depict scenes connected with Buddhist ceremonial" (photo caption, p. 445).
The temples lie "for eight miles along the (Irrawaddy) river bank and extend. . . two miles inland. . . and the very ground is so thickly covered with the crumbling remnants of ancient shrines that . . . it is impossible to move hand or foot without touching a sacred object" (photo caption, p. 447).
Mr. Roberts tells of many legends about the builders of these temples, many approximately 1,000 years old. There is a colorful 8-page section of photos of the native costumes. The author is very impressed with the beauty and religious nature of the temples, "As the swift steamer of modern science bears one away from this scene of vanished glory, solemn and lofty feelings come crowding upon the heart" (p. 454).
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