CAMBODIA: Angkor Wat
The ruins of the ancient Siamese
capital of Ayutthaya lie on an island bend of the Chao Phraya river, 76 km
north of Bangkok. The city was founded in1350 AD by King Ramathibodi of the
first Uthong dynasty and remained capital of the Kingdom of Siam for 400
years. At the height of its `golden age` in the 17-18th centuries Ayutthaya
counted three royal palaces and some 375 Buddhist temples or wats which were
used for education and the performing arts as well as for worship. Commerce
flourished with both the Dutch and British companies setting up factories
there. The court of King Narai the Great (1656-1688) even established links
with Louis XIV whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to
Paris. Warships and ceremonial royal barges moored near Wat Tin Tha, a
classic Siamese temple guarded by mythical creatures from the Ramakien -
Thailand`s national epic drawn from the Ramayana. After deflecting many
invasions, in 1767 Ayutthaya was conquered by the Burmese and its exquisite
treasures and libraries were destroyed. Fortunately its contact with the
West has left historians a rich sources of material describing the courtly
lifestyle of of the Siamese kings. The remains of prangs (reliquary towers)
and the ruins of its forts and giant monasteries give present-day visitors
an idea of Ayutthaya`s past splendour, a city described by travellers of
that time as the most beautiful in Asia. The historic site was inscribed on
the World Heritage List in 1991.