Ananda was built in 1105 by King Kyanzittha, restored in 1783, and restored again after the 1975 earthquake. Its walls are periodically whitewashed, and its spires were gilded in 1990. One of the most admired temples in Pagan, it is formed as a Greek (equal-armed) cross. Each arm of the cross forms a hall attached to its central mass. Past the hall and in towards the center is a shrine, an arrangement which is repeated on all four sides of the temple.