Wat Mahathat
Founded
in the 1700s, Wat Mahathat is a national centre for the Mahanikai
monastic sect and houses one of Bangkok's
two Buddhist universities, Mahathat Rajavidyalaya. Every weekend,
a large produce market is held on the grounds. Opposite the main
entrance, on the other side of Maharat road, is a large religious
market selling amulets, or magic charms. The temple is open to
visitors from 09.00 to 17.00 hours everyday and on Wan Phra Buddhist
holy days (the full and new moons every fortnight). Also in the
temple grounds is a daily open-air market that features traditional
Thai herbal medicine.
Wat Suthat
Wat Suthat is featured as Bangkok's tallest
Wiharn and houses a 14th century Buddha statue from the Sukhothai
period, surrounded by ratter surreal depictions of the Buddha's
last 24 lives. The courtyard is filled with odd statues of scholars
and sailors, brought as ballast in rice boats returning from
China, while the doors of the Wat have been carved by King Rama
II. In an annual cer
Wat Ratchabophit
The unusual
Wat Ratchabophit was built, with very elaborate decoration, around
1870 by King Rama V. The mother-of-pearl doors and window of
the Bot are especially refined, and the handpainted tiles clearly
show European influence.
Wat Arun
The temple
of Dawn or Wat Arun is named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna.
It appears in all the tourist brochures and is located on the
Thonburi side of the Chao Thraya River. King Taksin chose this
17th century Wat for his
royal temple and palace, as it was the first place in Thonburi
to catch the morning light. The Emerald Buddha was housed here
after it was recaptured from Laos, before being moved to Wat
Phra Kaeo in 1785. Even without the sacred statue, Wat Arun continued
to be much revered, and the kings Rama II and Rama III reconstructed
and enlarged it to its present height of 104 metres. Today, Wat
Arun has a long, elongated, Khmer-style, prang, the tower, and
four minor towers symbolising Mount Meru, the terestrial representation
of the thirty-three heavens. The Prang are covered with pictures
of porcelain, which Chinese boats coming to Bangkok used as ballest.
San Lak Muang
San Lak
Muang or the City Pillar is across the street from the Eastern
wall of Wat Phra Keao, at the Southern end of Sanam Luang. This
shrine encloses a wooden pillar erected by King Rama I in 1782
to represent the sounding of the new Bangkok capital. Later,
during the reign of King Rama V, five other idols were added
to the shrine. The spirit of the pillar is considered to be the
city's guardian deity and it receives the daily supplications
of countless Thai worshippers, some of whom commission classical
Thai dancers to perform at the shrine.
Erawan Shrine
San Phra
Phrom or Erawan Shrine was created as a spirit house connected
to the Erawan Hotel, which has now made way for the Grand Hyatt
Erawan Hotel. The forces of this typical Thai spirit house didn't
seem effective enough during the building of the hotel, so spiritual
persons advised that it should be replaced with the four-headed
image of Brahma or Phra Phrom in thai. There have been no further
hitches since.
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