Mogok is believed to be founded in 1217 by three lost Shan hunters who discovered rubies at the base of a collapsed mountain later known as Kyee Arr Taung.[3] According to the oral history, the hunters returned to their home in Momeik and offered the precious stones to the local saopha who established a village in what would become modern-day Mogok.[3]
Following the 1885 Third Anglo-Burmese War when the British conquered and annexed the hither to independent Upper Burma, in 1886 the British launched a military expedition to "open up" the ruby mines at Mogok and make them available to British merchants. George Skelton Streeter, a gem expert and son of Edmund Streeter of the Streeters & Co Ltd jewellery company in London, accompanied the expedition and stayed there to work as a government valuer in British-run mines.[4]
In 2018, the Mogok commemorated the 800th anniversary of the city's founding.[5]
Geography
At 1,170 metres (3,840 ft) in elevation, the city has a fairly temperate climate year-round, and is home to Bamar, Shan, Lisu, Palaung, and Karenethnic groups, as well as Chinese, Indians and Gurkhas.
The city is composed of two towns, Mogok and Kyat Pyin. Mogok is four miles long and two miles wide. It is situated in a valley surrounded by a large number of mountains.Taung Min Taung mountain is the highest mountain in the region and is at an elevation of more than 7000 feet. Kyatpyin lies about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Mogok. Tourists that travel to this area need a special authorization and a guide person.[6]
Climate
In contrast to the hot to sweltering, semi-arid Dry Zone, Mogok has a borderline humid subtropical climate (KöppenCwa) and a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) characterised by a warm dry season with cold mornings from mid-November to mid-April, and a very warm and extremely rainy wet season akin to that of Kachin State, only less extreme in heat discomfort, from mid-April to mid-November. The annual rainfall of around 2,700 millimetres or 106 inches is comparable to that of Yangon and three times that of Mandalay.
Gems are sold in markets in Mogok; however, foreigners require special permits to visit the town, and it is illegal to purchase/export gems from Myanmar other than from government licensed dealers.
90% of a certain version of the world's rubies come from Myanmar (Burma). There are many other ruby sources in the world such as Sri Lanka and various places in Africa. Only in terms of quality Mogok rubies are best. The red stones from there are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of Myanmar's gems. The "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north of Mandalay, is noted as the original source of ruby including the world's finest "pigeon's blood" rubies as well as the one of the world's most beautiful sapphires in "royal" blue, only second to the now extinct Kashmir blue.
^"Edmund Streeter [of the Streeters & Co Ltd jewellery company in London] was a scholar and an author, and a considerable authority on precious stones. The firm's catalogue was more than simply a commercial presentation and it was also an introduction to the infant science of Gemology. Streeter and his family were adventurers in the true Victorian mould. His son George Skelton Streeter accompanied a military expedition to open up the Burmese ruby mines at Mogok in 1886, and stayed there to work as a government valuer. His eldest son Harry lost his life in Australian waters while pearling with the company fleet". Peter Hinks, Introduction to "Victorian Jewellery", Studio Editions, London 1991.
^Searle, D. L.; Ba Than Haq (1964) "The Mogok belt of Burma and its relationship to the Himalayan orogeny" Proceedings of the 22nd International Geological Conference, Delhi 11: pp. 132–161
^Iyer, Lakshinarayanpuran Anantkrishna Narayana (1953) The geology and gem-stones of the Mogok Stone Tract, Burma Geological Survey of India Memoir 82, Government of India Press, Calcutta, OCLC 6526679 ; reprinted in 2007 by White Lotus, Bangkok, ISBN978-974-480-123-4
Myanmar
Mandalay Region
