Ancient Ayutthaya temple illuminated to attract tourists
Wat Chaiwatthanaram, the main attraction of Ayutthaya Historical Park in Muang district of Ayutthaya province, has been all lit up with colourful illuminations since last week as part of the tourism promotion campaign “Ayutthaya...Sundown" hosted by the Fine Arts Department.
Under the campaign, the temple, which is located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, will be illuminated every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday from 6.30pm to 10pm until the end of the year to attract tourists.
The department has also invited visitors to dress up in traditional Thai attire and pose for photos with the ancient temple as the backdrop to recreate the period from 1351 to 1767 when the Ayutthaya Kingdom ruled most of the area that is now Thailand.
The temple was constructed in 1630 by King Prasat Thong as the first temple of his reign. The temple's name translates as “the temple of the long reign and glorious era”. It was designed in Khmer style as a Buddhist merit-making exercise with a central 35-metre-high Prang (pagoda) surrounded by four smaller prangs on a rectangular platform.
The central platform is surrounded by eight chedi-shaped chapels, which are connected by a rectangular cruciform cross-shaped passage or Phra Rabieng. Along the temple wall are 120 sitting Buddha statues, probably originally painted black and gold.
