Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

By Mark McConville

 

 

ASTONISHING aerial images have captured a bird’s eye view of the dazzling Buddhist temples of Myanmar.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

Stunning pictures show the variation in the temples as you look down on them above with some golden and red circles being replaced by darker rectangles and pyramid-esque shapes at other locations.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

Other striking shots show a bamboo structure around one of the temples, white walls leading to a golden top and a new place of worship undergoing construction with scaffolding all around it.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

The amazing photographs were taken across Myanmar by London-based architect and photographer Dimitar Karanikolov (42), from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

“I thought Myanmar from above would look amazing,” he said.

 

“I love this new point of view as top down images are very architectural and can only be done with a drone.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

“It’s like seeing familiar places in a new and almost hard to recognise perspective. People normally ask how the images are taken and how high the drone was to achieve this.”

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

Each photo features one of the thousands of centuries-old Buddhist temples, shrines, and pagodas built in the sprawling forests of Bagan, Yangon, and Mandalay.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

In addition to highlighting the beauty of the temples’ designs, these photographs also visually illustrate the prominence of Buddhism in both past and present Myanmar.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

More than 10,000 temples exist in Bagan alone, and—as evident in Karanikolov’s photos—many of them are currently being restored.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

Though Myanmar has an ancient relationship with the religion, Karanikolov’s modern approach to photographing its temples shows it from a dazzling new perspective.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

Unfortunately, it’s not all beauty in Myanmar as for most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world’s longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.

Dimitar Karanikolov / mediadrumworld.com

 

The country’s military is facing fresh accusations that it’s launched deadly attacks against civilians. This time, not against the Rohingyas, but against the Kachin people in the north.

 

For more information see instagram.com/karanikolov