Introduction
 
"Ah! well, travellers who spoke of Siam as a dream of the Arabian Nights only told the truth; the colours of the East are so brilliant, the outlines so eccentric, the architecture so dazzling and covered with ornament and these twenty palaces joined together hold so much that is wonderful, that it is worth taking the voyage for this one view......"
The Marquis of Beauvoir, 1867
 
Adjacent to the Grand Palace and built in 1782 by King Rama I, Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) or Wat Phra Si Rattana Sadsadaram, is home to the most sacred Buddha image in Thailand, Phra Kaeo Morakot (the Emerald Buddha). During its two hundred year history, the temple had undergone several restorations, and additions. Thus, the temple  incorporates no less than two centuries of Rattanakosin craftmanship which is an expression of the essential entity of the Thai people.
 
 
 
 
 
The four predominant structures in Wat Phra Kaeo are the Phra Si Rattana Chedi, the Library (Phra Mondop), the Royal Pantheon (Prasat Phra Thepidorn) and the Ubosoth (Chapel) of the Emerald Buddha. The links below give information on the different interesting features in the compound of Wat Phra Kaeo. 
   
Ubosoth of the Emerald Buddha
  Bronze Lions 
Statue of Seated Hermit 
Interior of the Ubosoth 
Throne of the Emerald Buddha 
Crowned Standing Buddhas 
Ten Crowned Buddhas 
Phra Sam Phutta Panni 
Mural of the Scene of Enlightment
   
Emerald Buddha Homepage
  Costumes of the Emerald Buddha 
Illustrated History of the Emerald Buddha
   
The Library (Phra Mondop)
  Dhyani Buddhas 
Model of Angkor Wat 
Gilded Chedis (Phra Chedi Thong)
   
The Royal Pantheon
  Interior of the Royal Pantheon 
Monuments to Former Chakri Kings
   
Phra Si Rattana Chedi
   
Interesting Features around Wat Phra Kaeo
  Galleries (Phra Rabiang) 
Statues of Mythical Beings 
Chinese Stone Sculptures 
Phra Viharn Yod 
Eight Prangs
 
 
 
Copyright © 1998, by The Thailand Collection