Mogok (မိုးကုတ္)

                                                    Mogoke

 

Famed for it's natural beauty and for brilliant rubies and sapphires pulled from its red earth. Mogoke is a beautiful, tranquil lake town. The Mogoke area used to be known as "Ruby Mines District". It abounds in mountain ranges as high as 7500 feet, which are of gneiss and crystalline limestone.

Mogoke, where most of priceless Gems are mined, lies in a beautiful mountain valley, a town situated 1170 metres above sea level, is located 128 miles to the north-east of Mandalay, and 60 miles to the east of Ayeyarwady river.

There is the Great Lake of Mogoke in the centre of the town, lying like a pool in the garden.The mountain ranges of Mogoke are a part of the great Shan plateau but the town itself is in Mandalay Division. Mogoke is in the centre of four mountains.

Hence, geography of Mogoke looks like an oven. The visitor will be rewarded by fantastic views of forested mountains, the distant Ayeyarwaddy River and plains. Green and lush forests, mountains and streams are the topographical features of the Mogoke region forming a scene of natural splendor.

Mogoke as a town came into being around 1207 AD during the Bagan Era. In Shan Language, it is known as "Mongkat" which means "A cool and pleasant town". When time changes, it came to be known as Mogoke. It is alternatively known as "Ruby Land" because it produces the highly quality rubies in the world.

Residents are mostly Lisus, Shans and Kachins who make their living by mining, cutting, polishing and marketing gemstones while some other local people work on farms.

Visitors can observe the mining techniques by which these precious stones are taken from alluvial limestone gravel.

For centuries, gems such as rubies and

sapphires were found at Mogoke abundantly and very easily–so easy that they were literally scopped up by hand from among tufts of grass-roots in the hill-side kitchen garden. Gems so begotten are now known as 'grass-root stones'. And the kind of loose upper soil where they are easily found is named 'Manipur paydirt' because in old days Manipur immigrants were those ordered by the king to work the mines.

In those days the price of ordinary rubies was, almost nothing. They were seen everywhere, bought and sold everyday. Only extraordinary ones, large, flawless and of pigeon-blood colour, were considered as something worthy. Rich men, lords and ladies, Sawbwas (chieftains) and kings used to collect only those extraordinary gem-stones. And among gems, rubies rank No.1.

Mogoke where beautiful rubies and sapphires lay scattered, has been famous for its precious rubies and gems since the days of ancient Myanmar monarchs. Especially, Mogoke rubies became renowned for their quality and beauty. Mogoke also produces the highly valued star sapphires and a whole variety of semi-precious gems like garnets, topaz and many others.

Mogoke mines have yielded many gems of enormous value. There are now over 1000 mines, with an area of approximately 4,864 square kilometres.

Today gems are extracted through traditional methods of digging by hand and mining by machinery equipment in respective gem tracts. There are two main types - tunnel mines and open-cut.

Small-scale traditional mines such as lay-bin-gyin (four-sided-pits) are also used in some places.

The most recent finds of world fame is the Na-Wa-Ta State Ruby weighing 496.5 carats and another stone, the largest rare ruby weighing 21450 carats, found in 1996. There is also the largest star sapphire weighing 63,000 carats.
The motorway is safe although there are nearly one thousand bends and curves along the route. There is pleasant viewing of mountain plantations as well as farms on the plain. As the region being the home of national races of Shan, Palaung and Lisu, visitors will also have the chance to see their villages along the route and study their traditional customs and daily work.

Mogoke and its environs – Momeik, Twin nge', Thabeikkyin and Waphyudaung – together has a gem-bearing area of 1916 sq. miles. There are now over 1000 mines, which are of two main types –tunnel and open-cut. Small-scale traditional mines, such as lay-bin-gyin (four-sided pits, three feet square) are also worked in some places. Rubies and sapphires are found in most of the mines and they bring the highest prices. Mogoke also produces numerous gems of lesser quality such as – alexandrite, amethyst, apatite, aquamarine, black tourmaline, black John, danburite, flourite, garnet, green tourmaline, lapis lazuli, moonstone, peridot, quartz, rose quartz, spinel, topaz, white sapphire, zircon.

Mogoke then and now, is a city of gems, the heart of the gem-zone and the centre of the gem trade. Some years in the past, private mines were all closed and even Myanmar nationals on visit to Mogoke hadn't the chance to see how the famous mines worked.

If you really are interested in gems, Mogoke in Myanmar is a must in your tour program, among other gem sites of the world.You should have enough time (at least 3 days) for the round trip from Mandalay to Mogoke because it is a 128 mile motor-road (about 7 hour drive) and you have so many things to see and study about gem-mining, not to mention those lovely Lisu and Shan villages which adorn the misty valleys. After you have passed Letpanhla, the halfway stop for lunch, you are among the famous gem-producing hills, and the rock-formations will mesmerise you if you are a geologist. At Mogok you'll be very busy the whole day. First, make a pilgrimage to Chanthagyi Pagoda – the name implies you'll be immensely rich soon! Then to Mogoke gem-market, where you just watch others buy and sell and get thrilled. At Shwepyiaye ruby mine, see the collection of gem gravels which are then washed and scrutinised the work of mining from start to finish. You'll have to go to the lapidary works to study how the stones are cut and polished, ready for making jewelery. In the evening, climb up Kyeenitaung to take a sunset view of Mogoke and to gaze wistfully towards those lovely Lisu villages.At Kyatpyin, 7 miles from Mogoke on your return journey, you have the opportunity to see all kinds of gem-sites, large and small, worked in different method.