Blog About Random Country #4 Myanmar

The flag of Myanmar is a horizontal tricolor of yellow, green and red with a white five pointed star in the middle. The star symbolizes the significance of a unified country the yellow stands for solidarity. The green stands for peace, tranquility and the lush green vegetation of the country, and the red stands for courage and determination. The flag was adopted in 2010.

Myanmar is biggest country in Indochina. It has 5 borders. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast. Myanmar has 676,578 km² (or 261,228 sq mi) area and a population of 54 million. Myanmar is divided into 7 states and 7 regions. The capital is Naypyidaw. And here is the ten most populous cities of Myanmar:

• Yangon

• Mandalay

• Naypyidaw

• Mawlamyine

• Taunggyi

• Bago

• Monywa

• Myitkyina

• Pathein

• Sittwe

Myanmar is the northwesternmost country of mainland Southeast Asia. It lies along the Indian and Eurasian Plates, to the southeast of the Himalayas. To its west is the Bay of Bengal and to its south is the Andaman Sea. It is strategically located near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes. Hkakabo Razi is the highest point of Myanmar (and also Southeast Asia) at 5,881 m (or 19,295 ft) elevation.

The British, who showed an interest in the region since the middle of the 18th century, captured the entire territory of the country at the end of three wars, the first in 1824-1826, the second in 1852, and the third in 1886-1889, and connected its administration directly to the Governorship of India. During this period, the British allowed many Indian immigrants to come and settle in the country. Due to the colonial economy, the socioeconomic structure of the country has changed and local people have started attacking Indian immigrants from time to time. As a result of the national movement, Myanmar left British India in 1937. The country was occupied by the Japanese in 1942. After the war, it was again under British rule. It gained its independence on January 4, 1948 with the name of Burmese Union. Myanmar gained its independence, but faced various problems from the very first years. The country, which was ruled by a military regime between 1962 and 2011 and whose doors were closed to the world for fifty years during this period, began to be governed by the civilian government established under the leadership of former general U Thein Sein since 2011. However, on February 1, 2021, a military coup was carried out by the Myanmar army against the ruling leader and his cabinet. President of the State Council Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party were detained. Martial law was declared. As the anti-coup protests continued throughout the country, the stability of the country was seriously damaged, a climate of fear prevailed.

%68 of the population is Bamar, %10 is Shan, %7 is Karen (No, I didn’t wrote wrong.), %4 is Rakhine, %3 is Han Chinese. And for the religion; %88 is Buddhist, %6 is Christian, %4 is Muslim. Other people belong to other religions.

Burmese is most spoken and official language in Myanmar and it spoken by two thirds of the population. Burmese alphabet is very different from other alphabets. Some devices show them as a square. If you want to see their writing click here. It is very weird!

Kat kyi kaik: a southern coastal dish of flat rice noodles with a variety of seafood, land meats, raw bean sprouts, beans and fried eggs.

Wet tha chin: Shan-style preserved minced pork in rice

Hpet htok: Meat, pastry paper, ginger, garlic, pepper powder, and salt. Usually served with soup or noodles.

As you can see Burmese people love rice, noodle and soup!

Myanmar, on the edge of the Indian Ocean, has had this name for nearly 26 years. The former British colony was called Burma. The name Myanmar, which was given to the country by the military regime in 1989, comes from Myanma, the largest ethnic group in the country.

Although the UN recognizes the name Myanmar, the reason why many states still insist on Burma is to show that they do not approve of the country's military regime. Aung San Suu Kyi also prefers to say Burma. She justifies this as the name Myanmar does not reflect the ethnic diversity of the country.

1) The men in Myanmar wear skirts (known as longyi)

2) In Myanmar, you can eat tea

3) Fortunes are serious business

4) Shwedagon Pagoda holds a bit of the Buddha (just eight stand of his hair)

5) Myanmar is one of three countries that doesn’t use metric system. (Others are United States and Liberia)

6) The Water Festival, also known as Thingyan, is one of the biggest festivals in the country. Thousands take to the streets for a huge water fight to celebrate the Burmese New Year in April.

7) Kissing sounds are normal in a Myanmar restaurant because this is the sound they make to get the attention of the waiter.

Thank you for reading my blog.Click here for my other blogs and click here to be friend with me. By the way this is my 10th blog 🎉! Anyway stay tuned and I’ll see you next time!