Granada is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Darro, the Genil, the Monachil and the Beiro.
The area was settled since ancient times by Iberians, Romans, and Visigoths. The current settlement became a major city of Al-Andalus in the 11th century during the Zirid Taifa of Granada. In the 13th century it became the capital of the Emirate of Granada under Nasrid rule, the last Muslim-ruled state in the Iberian Peninsula. Granada was conquered in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs and progressively transformed into a Christian city over the course of the 16th century.
The Alhambra, a medieval Nasrid citadel and palace, is located in Granada. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the most visited tourist sites in Spain.
There is much more to see in Granada than just the UNESCO World Heritage site of ...
Wat Pho, known as the Monastery of the Bodhi Tree, stands as a relatively well-preserved temple ruin off the city island of Ayutthaya. The site lies in an area once called Thung Kaeo, positioned between the remains of Wat Kuti Thong and Wat Wong Khong. Flooding can make access difficult during the rainy season.
The monastery was originally approached by water along a now-filled canal known as Khlong Wat Pho, which appears on historical maps from the early twentieth century and likely connected to other local waterways such as Khlong Pha Lai. A ferry once operated across the old course of the Lopburi River from the Ten Cowries Landing near Wat Thammikarat on the city side. Traces of a surrounding moat remain visible in places.
What survives on the ground consists of the restored ruins of an ordination hall and a sermon hall, together with the foundations of four smaller chedis, all enclosed by an outer wall of the type known as a crystal wall. These principal structures are aligned east-west, with ...
Wat Sangka Tha วัดสังขทา
Wat Sangkha Tha is located on the city island in the southwestern part of Ayutthaya. The temple is licsted in the Somdet Phra Sri Nakharin Park. Wat Sangkha Thae and Wat Chedi Yai are nearby Wat Chao Phram and several other ruins are located just east of here.
Being part of the Somdet Phra Sri Nakharin Park the ruin has been restored by the Fine Arts Department. The site consists of two monastic structures, an ordination hall and a wihan, both with a chedi.
Two other monastic structures are also nearby. A wihan called Wat Sangkha Thae or the "Monastery of the True Monkhood" and likely a bell or drum tower.
The whole complex is surrounded by a moat. All buildings were probably originally part of one temple but early maps show them as two seperate temples.
Its historical background and period of construction are unknown with most records being destroyed during the fall of the city to the Burmese in 1767. The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya mention an important ...
Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat (วัดบวรสถานสุทธาวาส), also widely known as Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na, stands as a quiet yet significant royal temple within the grounds of Bangkok’s former Front Palace, now part of the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute complex near the National Theatre and close to the Bangkok National Museum. Unlike ordinary temples, this sacred site has never housed resident monks, serving instead as the private chapel of the Front Palace in much the same way that Wat Phra Kaew functions within the Grand Palace.
Its story begins in the reign of King Rama I, when Prince Maha Surasinghanat established a small convent called Wat Luang Chi for royal women of Khmer origin to observe religious precepts.
By the time of King Rama II the buildings had fallen into disuse and were cleared to create a rabbit garden. Under King Rama III, Prince Maha Sakdiphonlasep, the Front Palace ruler of the day, dedicated the land to a new temple as an act of Buddhist merit and ...
