Wat Chai Wattanaram. Travel to Thailand

Currently, Ayutthaya is the modern city is 75 kilometers north of Bangkok. The Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple is a Buddhist monastery built in 1630 and destroyed during the capture of Ayutthai in 1767. Today, the monastery is a ruin, but still makes a lasting impression. The complex consists of several towers, the highest of which reaches a height of 35 meters. All towers are located along the gallery, which has about a hundred images of the Buddha.

Chai Watthanaram consists of the main tower of the four smaller towers, all standing on the same foundation and surrounded by eight smaller towers and a gallery. Along the gallery there were 120 gold-plated statues of Buddhas in honor of maravijaya, or Victory over Mara, the Devil. The twelve crowned Buddha statues are surrounded by eight smaller towers. The ceiling of each alcove of each tower was made of wood and was decorated with gilded star-shaped patterns, covered with black varnish.

The inner walls are painted with frescoes, while the outer walls were decorated with twelve stucco bas-reliefs depicting stories from the life of the Buddha. Ubosatha (consecration hall) was located outside the gallery and east of the main tower, to the left and to the right of ubosadkha - two jagged chedi, four complementary small chedis and a small tower, which was built later. With the exception of the gallery, all the buildings in the courtyard of the monastery were surrounded by three walls.

It was built by order of King Prasat Thong in 1630. It is assumed that this monastery is located where his house was. Wat Chai Watthanaram was built in memory of his mother. Historian Prince Damrong Rachanuphap noted that its architecture is similar to Angkor Wat and, perhaps, the whole temple was built to commemorate the King's victory over Cambodia.

The main tower with a height of 35 meters was built in the early Ayutthaya style. The four smaller towers, however, were built in the style of King Prasat Thong. They have seven levels. The shape of the eight smaller towers was probably taken from the shape of the cremation tower of the kings of the Ayutthaya period. This Thai type of tower represents Mount Meru, the center of the universe for Buddhists.

In 1767 Ayutthaya, the capital of Thailand, was captured by Burmese troops, and the temple became an army camp. After the fall of Ayutthaya, Wat Chai Wat Thanaram was abandoned. Robbery, decapitation of Buddhas and sale of temple bricks became common practice. Finally, in 1987 the preservation of the temple began by the Thai Department of Fine Arts and was completed in 1992.

Thailand is a country of exotic eastern culture, in which elements of the Indian, Chinese, Khmer and Western civilizations safely fit into our time. The daily and social life of Thais is inextricably linked with Buddhism. In Thailand, Buddhism is not only the official state religion. This is the world view of most of the inhabitants of the country. Buddhists try to adhere to the rules-recommendations bequeathed by the Buddha. And, therefore, Buddhist rituals and rituals can be observed everywhere.

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