Lake Lanao and Marawi

One Of The Oldest Lakes On Earth, Sacred To The Maranao And The City On Its Shore Was Destroyed In The 2017 Siege · Marawi, Lanao del Sur

LAKE LANAO IS THE SECOND-LARGEST LAKE IN THE PHILIPPINES AND ONE OF THE OLDEST LAKES ON EARTH - a handful worldwide are this ancient - AND IT IS SACRED TO THE MARANAO, whose name means people of the lake. THEIR CULTURE IS AMONG THE RICHEST IN THE COUNTRY AND THE LEAST SEEN BY OUTSIDERS: the TOROGAN, a royal house with carved PANOLONG beams flaring out like prows; the SARIMANOK, the legendary bird; OKIR carving; the KULINTANG gong ensembles; and the DARANGEN, an epic sung over nights, inscribed by UNESCO as intangible heritage. AND THEN THERE IS 2017. MILITANTS SEIZED MARAWI AND THE FIGHTING THAT FOLLOWED RAN FIVE MONTHS, DESTROYED THE COMMERCIAL HEART OF THE CITY, KILLED OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE AND DISPLACED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. RECONSTRUCTION IS INCOMPLETE AND MANY RESIDENTS HAVE STILL NOT RETURNED. Several governments advise against travel here. Check current advice, go with local contacts or not at all, and listen before looking.

Lake Lanao, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Marawi, Lanao del Sur, Philippines

CHECK YOUR GOVERNMENT'S CURRENT TRAVEL ADVICE BEFORE PLANNING ANYTHING - SEVERAL STATES ADVISE AGAINST TRAVEL TO LANAO DEL SUR and the wider central Mindanao region, and that advice changes. MARAWI IS REACHED BY ROAD FROM ILIGAN, roughly an hour, with CAGAYAN DE ORO the nearest airport of any size. THE LAKE ITSELF IS OPEN WATER seen from the shore road and from Marawi; there is no ticketed site. MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY holds the AGA KHAN MUSEUM with Maranao material culture - torogan carving, okir, kulintang - and keeps daytime hours. THE DESTROYED CITY CENTRE IS A REBUILDING SITE, not a viewpoint, and photographing it casually is not appropriate. MARAWI IS A MUSLIM CITY: dress modestly and observe Ramadan hours. Go with local contacts or not at all.

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