Wat Pho Buddhist Temple,  Bangkok - Thailand 2018

Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site. It became his main temple and is where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest center for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions have been recognized by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple. Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok covering an area of 80,000 square meters. It is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 46 meters in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east-west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha. The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public. The temple grounds contain four great chedis, 91 small chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls), and various buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found in the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates in the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China. Wat Pho was also intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end, a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas: history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustrations on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry. (Source: en.wikipedia.org)