Religious Sites

Tucked behind the 216-foot-long reclining Buddha at the Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple in Yangon, Myanmar, is a row of 33 smaller statues, each one demonstrating a different mudra (hand position) used by the Buddha. Many were pictured here in the May 2018 issue.

Construction of the original large Buddha was sponsored by a wealthy Burmese Buddhist (U Po Tha) in 1899. After its completion in 1907, however, it was decided that the statue's face appeared aggressive, so the image was destroyed in the 1950s and work began on a new image. The new statue was consecrated in 1973.

In the Central African Republic in early April, a UN peacekeeping mission known as MINUSCA was accused of killing 21 civilians in the capital, Bangui. At least 40 others were reported injured. On April 12, Banguians laid 17 of the bodies of the deceased at the entrance to the UN headquarters to protest the killing.

9-day, 8-night motorcoach tour in Eastern Europe. Through October 2018. Highlights: In Dubrovnik, CROATIA, Orlando’s Column, Sponza Palace/in Split, Jupiter’s Temple, Sveti Dujam cathedral/Plitvice Lakes National Park/in Zagreb, medieval St. Mark’s Church, Baroque St. Catherine’s Church/in SLOVENIA, Bled Castle, Ljubljana open-air market. $1,655 each, triple occupancy, or $1,727 ppdo or $2,354 single. Tradesco Tours (Davis, CA; 800/448-4321, www.tradescotours.com).

12 days, 11 nights in northern INDIA. Through November 2018. Highlights: In Amritsar, Golden Temple, Ram Bagh Garden at Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s summer palace/in McLeod Ganj, Dalai Lama’s monastery Tsuglagkhang/near Palampur, Sobha Singh Art Gallery/at Masroor, 8th-century rock-cut temples/Kangra Valley Railway from Baijnath to Nagrota/in Shimla, Himachal State Museum/ride narrow-gauge “toy train,” Shimla to Solan/depart from Delhi. From $1,963 ppdo. Single supp., $891. Cox & Kings (Los Angeles, CA; 800/999-1758, www.coxandkingsusa.com).

A suspected suicide bombing on March 21 in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed at least 31 people and injured more than 60. The bombing occurred at the Sahki shrine during Nowruz, a New Year festival. The Islamist militant group Daesh (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The shrine, one of the largest shrines in Afghanistan, is popular with Shia Muslims (Daesh is a Sunni group) and has been targeted two times in the past. In October 2016, at least 14 people were killed by a Daesh bomber, and a bombing at the shrine in 2011 killed 59.

In Lhasa, Tibet, China, a fire damaged part of the Jokhang Monastery, one of the holiest places in Tibetan Buddhism, on Feb. 18. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are not clear, but Chinese authorities reported that cultural artifacts were not damaged. Parts of the monastery reopened to the public the next day.

The more-than-1,000-year-old monastery, 2½ miles east of the Potala Palace, is a pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists.