It is easy to lose yourself in the fairy-tale mystique of Wat Phra Kaeo(or Temple of Emerald Buddha). Shimmering gilt towers, or stupas, vie for your attention with golden buildings topped with soaring arched roofs of multicoloured tiles. Small shrines give out clouds of sweet-smelling incense, and their fearsome stone guardians tower high above your head. But this is no fantasy palace: this is the most sacred place in Thai Buddhism - home to an Emerald Buddha statue so precious that nations have gone to war over it.
Wat Phra Kaeo is a Buddhist monastery inside the Grand Palace in central Bangkok, and although it looks shiny and new it actually dates from 1792, soon after the Thai army captured the Emerald Buddha from Laos. The most important building of Wat Phra Kaeo is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This massive prayer hall is built on a marble platform, and surrounded by effigies of gilded garudas (mythical divine birds) to ward off evil spirits. The inside of the temple is covered from floor to ceiling with incredibly detailed murals showing the life and teachings of the Buddha.
The Emerald Buddha - in reality carved jade and only 75 cm high - sits on a high altar surrounded by other Buddha images. At a small shrine just outside the Temple an almost constant stream of worshippers makes offerings of incense, food and gold leaf, before entering the prayer hall to pray.
On one side of the Wat, on another raised platform, are three stupas, the two smaller ones, encircled by statues of mystical guardians, built as memorials to the parents of King Rama I who founded Wat Phra Kaeo. Nearby is Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn (the Royal Pantheon), where statues of past rulers are enshrined. and a library, both covered in ornate giltwork. Of interest to anyone heading on to Cambodia is a model of Angkor Wat, made almost 150 years ago.
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