Image number: 07THI-126

Visitors explore the visually rich Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) in Bangkok, Thailand. The cylindrical dark gold building with many columns (on the left) is the Phra Mondop building, built by King Rama I in order to house the revised edition of the Buddhist Canon. The walls of the Phra Mondop are covered in green mirrored tiles inlaid with gold medallions depicting Buddha. The base of the walls are lined with two rows of small gilded guardian angels, each one slightly different. At the four corners of the Phra Mondop are stone Buddhas carved in the ninth century Javanese style. Sixteen twelve-cornered columns support the intricate multi-tier roof.