The gilded pinnacles of stupas surrounding the main stupa at Bago, Myanmar. A stupa is a Buddhist shrine, often domed or bell-shaped, that holds within it a sacred relic associated with Buddhism. The gold leaf honours the relic and the Buddha, as do the symbolic ‘umbrellas’ over the spires. The main stupa is the 114 meter high Shwemawdaw Pagoda (stupas are often called pagodas in Burma). Buddhists claim that the original stupa here was very ancient, but this is a common claim. The original stupa houses two hairs from the Buddha’s head, and in the middle ages one of his teeth was added to the mix. Apparently the Buddha had hundreds of them. Teeth, not hairs.