Hadrian's Library was created by Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 132 on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens.
The building followed a typical Roman forum architectural style, having only one entrance with a propylon of Corinthian order, a high surrounding wall with protruding niches (oikoi, exedrae) at its long sides, an inner courtyard surrounded by columns and a decorative oblong pool in the middle.
The library was on the eastern side where rolls of papyrus "books" were kept. Adjoining halls were used as reading rooms, and the corners served as lecture halls.
The library was seriously damaged by the Herulian invasion of 267 and repaired by the prefect Herculius in AD 407–412. During Byzantine times, three churches were built at the site, the remains of which are preserved.
Around the same period as the cathedral another church, Agios Asomatos sta Skalia, was built against the north facade, but it is not preserved.
The site is a lot of fun to explore. It’s near the ...
Wat Makham Phlong วัดมะขามโพลง is a mid-19th-century riverside monastery on the Pa Sak River in Tha Ruea District, Ayutthaya Province, founded in 1882 (BE 2425) to serve local farming and trading communities.
It received royal consecration of its sima boundaries in 1957 (BE 2500), marking its formal elevation as a parish temple under the Mahanikaya sect.
Local lore credits its enduring vitality to protective Unalom inscriptions, believed to channel the Buddha’s ushnisha curl for path-clearing and prosperity—drawing devotees for prayers on career, fortune, and karmic release.
Excavations in the 1970s by the Fine Arts Department authenticated its Ayutthaya-style elements, though the site blends ancient motifs with 20th-century additions, symbolizing continuity from Siamese resilience to modern Thai Buddhism.
The name “Temple of the Long-Pod Tamarind” derives from the ancient makham phlong trees shading the grounds, their elongated pods evoking life’s jointed paths in ...
Sing Buri Province, cradled by the life-giving Chao Phraya and Lopburi Rivers, emerged from ancient Mon-Khmer roots in the Dvaravati era and rose to prominence as a fortified riverside settlement under the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Its name—City of the Lion—stems from a founding legend: a celestial lion spirit descended to protect the land, uniting with a mortal woman to sire Singhapahu, the mythical ancestor whose courage defined the region’s identity.
Wat Phra Prang Muni, established in the late Ayutthaya period over three centuries ago, stands as one of Sing Buri’s most luminous historical treasures. Its defining feature is the elegant Khmer-style prang, a tall, corn-shaped stupa of precise square tiers, adorned with intricate stucco motifs of garudas, nagas, and floral vines—restored in recent decades with shimmering gold leaf that transforms it into a golden spire under the sun.
At the temple’s spiritual heart resides Luang Pho Yen, a graceful stucco image in the Māravijaya ...
Sing Buri Province, nestled along the fertile banks of the Chao Phraya River in central Thailand, traces its origins to the ancient Mon-Khmer settlements that flourished during the Dvaravati period, later flourishing under the Ayutthaya Kingdom as a strategic riverine outpost. The name “Sing Buri” itself derives from local folklore: a mythical lion (singha) spirit is said to have guarded the area, mating with a human woman and fathering a child named Singhapahu, whose lineage symbolically founded the city. This blend of myth and history infuses the region with a quiet pride, evident in its preserved temples, riverside way of life, and enduring agricultural rhythms.
Among these sacred sites stands Wat Prachoti Karam, a serene Ayutthaya-era temple in the Don Kratay area of Bang Krabue Subdistrict, revered for its deep spiritual resonance and architectural grace.
Believed to have been established over four centuries ago, the temple embodies the transitional artistry between Sukhothai and ...
