thailand world's biggest open-air museum (7)

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-1648057-thai-31-ancient-city-7/

Ancient Siam (formerly known as Ancient City) (Thai: Muang Boran) is a park constructed under the patronage of Lek Viriyaphant in the shape of Thailand.

Ancient Siam is dubbed as the world's largest outdoor museum. Fountain near the Sanphet Prasat Palace

The Ancient City is the door opening to the heritage of Thai wisdom. With a wide range of architectural symbols combined with fine arts and craftsmanship, structural layout and natural environment that integrate harmoniously, The Ancient City creates kind of atmosphere that induces visitors to perceive and appreciate the continuity of history, cultures, religions, arts and customs of Thai people from dawn until now.

The Sanphet Prasat Palace was the principal palace in the early Ayutthaya period

Sanphet Prasat Palace

Sanphet Prasat Palace, throne room ceilingThe 'moon and the stars' motif carried by the four wings' ceilings are influenced

by those at Wat Maha That, Chalieng in Sukhothai and Wat Na Phra Meru in Ayutthaya

Sanphet Prasat Palace, The central ceiling panel is derived from a wooden ceiling panel from Wat Phra Baromthat at Mueang Chalieng

The Chom Thong Palace Hall

During the reign of King Songtham (1620-1628 A.D.), the Chom Thong Palace Hall was used by senior members of the Buddhist hierarchy as a place from which they issued edicts relating to religious matters. The Chom Thong Palace Hall at Muang Boran or Songtham Palace was built based on the late Ayutthaya architectural style, which was presumably very typical after the reign of King Narai the Great (1656-1688 A.D.). The structure was made of brick and plaster with small windows on every side.

The Pallava Group of Images, Phang-nga

The images of the three Hindu deities, Vishnu, Shiva and Laksamee were carved out of stone by Pallava sculptors living in southern India around the 8th-9th centuries A.D. Later during the fifth reign in Rattanakosin period King Rama VI, who was still the Crown Prince, travelled to seethese images whose faces and bodies strangely stood  out of the trunk of a tree that had grown around them. Nobody knows where the images come from. However, from the ornaments and hair styles, we can presume that the statues are of Indian origin. Now these images are kept at the Nakhon Si Thammarat National Museum.

Prasat Sikhoraphum, Surin is composed of 5 prang (pagoda). Originally built in the 12th century, this was a Hindu sanctuary of five temple towers. Around the15th century it was converted to become a Buddhist centre

The Prasat Sikhoraphum Surin

The influence of Hinduism can be seen from the carved lintel found in the central tower, which depicts Shiva performing the cosmic dance. Standing in front of the sanctuary at a certain place, viewers can see the 5 towers simultaneously.

The Prasat Sikhoraphum Surin

The Prasat Sikhoraphum

The Phanom Rung Sanctuary, Buri Ram

The construction of Buri Ram presumably began around the 10th century A.D. and finished within the 13th century A.D. When King Jayavarman VII adopted Mahayana Buddhism, the function of the Hindu sanctuary had been changed to serve as a Mahayana monastery.

Prasat Sadok Kok Thom is an old Thai Temple near Cambodian boarder

The Stupa of Phra Maha That, Ratchaburi Province represents Mahayana Buddhism and was constructed during the Lop Buri period which dates to around the 11th-13th century A.D.

a three-fourths scaled model of the original struc ture.

The Phra Maha That is one of the most sacred and important monasteries in the south of Thailand. The structure of this stupa is similar to the Chandi Pawana Chedi in Indonesia, the mondop style chedi, which was modeled after Chandimendut Chedi of Java.

The Phimai Stone Sanctuary

The replicas of old superb Khmer temples were constructed with the assistance of experts from the National Museum to ensure historical accuracy.

Outstanding works include also the former Grand Palace of Ayutthaya (destroyed in the Burmese invasion of 1767), Phimai Sanctuary in Nakhon Ratchasima, and Wat Khao Phra Viharn on the Cambodian border.

Nang Usas Look-Out Tower

The tower is not a man-made monument and presumably a prehistoric rock shelter. The original tower is at Muang Phan, Ban Phue District in Udon Thani Province. It is 3-4 kilometers west of Phra Buddha Bat Bua Bok, the site of another Buddha footprint.

Dusit Maha Prasat Palace (The Grand Palace)

Dusit Maha Prasat (The Grand Palace)

In the early Rattanakosin era, the Dusit Maha Prasat Palace was an audience hall, where affairs of the state were conducted and royal ceremonies performed. The palace was built by King Rama I in 1806 A.D. The structure is a cruciform building with large high roofs. In the beginning, the palace was intended to be as large as the Suriyat Amarin Palace of Ayutthaya.

The Dusit Maha Prasat Palace in the Grand Palace is now the only remaining example of the traditional Thai palace. Unfortunately, renovated in the reign of King Rama III, the building left no trace of the original workmanship initiated in the first reign.

The Grand Palace at Muang Boran, however, is not intended to model after the same palace as it stands today.

As for the structural form, the Dusit Maha Prasat Palace at Muang Boran has a number of significant changes from the present-day appearance of the hall.

For example, a free standing pillar which was removed from the original palace during the reign to King Rama VI were reconstructed in the middle of the throne room.

By pains taking research and study of old photos and contemporary documents, Muang Boran has succeeded in recreating the original appearance of the palace.

Dusit Maha Prasat mural detail

Dusit Maha Prasat Palace,

The style and ornamentation of the ceiling are taken from the design on wood carvings in private collections.

Dusit Maha Prasat Palace, throne hall

Dusit Maha Prasat Palace, decor over doorway

Rainbow Bridge

Thai's native cattle (Bos indicus), also called zebu, sometimes known as humped cattle or Brahmin cattle

Khun Phaen House is a Thai-style house that conforms to descriptions in a popular Thai literary work

Khun Phaen House is a Thai-style house

Khun Chang Khun Phaen is an epic Thai poem which originated from a legend of Thai folklore and is one of the most notable works in Thai literature. Children learn passages at school, and the poem is a source of songs, popular sayings, and everyday metaphors.

Thunbergia grandiflora - Blue Sky Flower

Sound: Thai Traditional Music

Text & Pictures: InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda