Wat Pho Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho, the Reclining Buddha Temple, is a Buddhist temple in central Bangkok. Located on the island of Rattanakosin near the Grand Palace. It is known that the art of Thai massage was born here. The full name of the temple is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklarm Rajwaramahaviharn or the Temple of the Buddha waiting to reach Nirvana. Wat Pho is the oldest temple in Bangkok, built in the XII century. Here, in 1782, General Chakri proclaimed himself King Rama I and established a new dynasty of rulers of Thailand. He gave the order to expand the ancient monastery located on this site and to build a stupa 41 m high, covered with a mosaic of green color with the image of the Buddha of the Ayutya school. Later, Rama III built a white stupa in honor of his father, and a yellow stupa was erected in his honor. The blue stupa was built by order of King Rama IV in honor of Queen Ayutia Si Suriyathai. The four stupas symbolize the first four reigns of the Chakri dynasty. Near the stupas is the pavilion of traditional medicine. The most famous temple brought the image of the Buddha in anticipation of the achievement of nirvana. Its length reaches 46 m, and its height is 15 m. The feet of the statue are covered with 108 pearl ornaments, conveying the individual features of the Buddha himself. The walls of the temple are covered with paintings telling about the lives of seven prominent disciples of the Buddha. The balustrade is decorated with marble bas-reliefs reproducing scenes from the Ramayana. In total, the monastery has 4 meeting rooms and 95 stupas, as well as a gallery with 400 Buddha statues. On the territory of the monastery there are stone statues depicting bearded creatures in hats, brought here from China in the XIX century. They are the guardians of the temple. Near Wat Pho is a library decorated with Chinese mosaics, which contains ancient manuscripts.