Mon Coast

The Mon coast faces the Gulf of Martaban, an arm of the Andaman Sea into which the Salween and Sittaung rivers flow. Its waters are strongly affected by tides and sediment brought down from inland. At the mouth of the Salween stood Martaban, a port known to traders across the Indian Ocean. The large glazed jars shipped from the port became so closely associated with it that they were called Martaban jars.