THAILAND: Ayutthaya
The ruins of the ancient Siamese capital of Ayutthaya lie on an island bend
of the Chao Phraya river, 76 km north of Bangkok. Founded in AD 1350 by King
Ramathibodi of the first Uthong dynasty, it 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, used for education and the performing arts, as well as for
worship. Commerce flourished with both Dutch and British companies setting
up factories. 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 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, contact with the West left a rich source of material describing
the courtly lifestyle of the Siamese kings. The remains of prangs (reliquary
towers) and the ruins of its forts and giant monasteries, give an idea of
Ayutthaya`s past splendour, a city described by travellers of that time as
the most beautiful in Asia. The site was inscribed on the World Heritage
List in 1991.