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THAILANDIAWEB; your Tour Operator in Thailand : Specialist in holidays and travels in Thailand
AYUTTHAYA
Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 by the U Thong ruler King Ramathibodi I , who recognized the strategic and logistical advantage of the site, which was enclosed by thee rivers, giving the city a natural defensive wall and providing water for a rapidly growing population . Over the following 417 years , Ayutthaya extended its realm over much of present-day Thailand and into Cambodia. It swallowed Sukhothai and even the Khmer capital Angkor . Magnificent royal palaces and more than 400 Buddhist monasteries were built, and visiting emissaries from the west compared Ayutthaya at the height of its power in the 17th centuries to Paris, London and Venice . But the seeds of Ayutthaya's destruction had already been sown : successive rulers were unable to contain the constant threat of invasion from neighboring Myanmar ( Burma ) , and in April 1767 the city succumbed to a 15 month siege and was destroyed by the victorious Burmese . It has now been encroached upon by the modern town, creating an interesting blend of ancient and modern.
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Although
the ruins at Sukhothai are better preserved and more extensive,
Ayutthaya is only a couple of hours from Bangkok by car, so most
travelers are likely to see only these — and they will still walk
away impressed. Most tours don't allow enough time to see all the
ruins and the two museums in town, but do stay long enough to get an
idea of what the area has to offer. Of Ayutthaya's many notable
ruins, Wat Phra Meru is one of the best preserved. The temple houses
two Buddha images, one of which is reputed to be more than 1,300
years old and thought to have originated in Sri Lanka. One of the
few temples to escape destruction by the Burmese, Wat Phra Meru also
has beautifully carved wooden ceiling.