Bangkok

Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan or Wat Arun Temple of Dawn. This is a Buddhist temple (In Thai wat) in Yai district of Bangkok, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple derives its name from the Hindu god Aruna, often personified as the radiations of the rising sun. The first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence. Although the temple had existed since at least the seventeenth century, its distinctive spires were built in the early nineteenth century during the reign of King Rama II.

The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings practically at the centre of Bangkok . The palace is the official residence first for the Kings of Siam since 1782. Here were based the king, the court and the royal government until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej or as it is more popular Rama IX, resided at the Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year.

Building of the palace started on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok or as a well known to almost everyone Rama I, the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok. Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added, especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925, the king, the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the palace, and had moved to other residences. After the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932, all government agencies completely moved out of the palace.

In shape, the palace complex is roughly rectangular and has a combined area of 218,400 square metres (2,351,000 sq ft), surrounded by four walls. It is situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River at the heart of the Rattanakosin Island, today in the Phra Nakhon District.

History Desperate for materials and short on funds, the palace was initially built entirely out of wood. On 10 June 1782, the king ceremonially crossed the river from Thonburi to take permanent residence in the new palace. Three days later on 13 June, the king held an abbreviated coronation ceremony, thus becoming the first monarch of the new Rattanakosin Kingdom.

To find more material for these constructions, King Rama I ordered his men to go upstream to the old capital city of Ayutthaya, which was destroyed in 1767 during a war between Burma and Siam. They dismantled structures and removed as many bricks as they could find, while not removing any from the temples. The bricks were ferried down the Chao Phraya by barges, where they were eventually incorporated into the walls of Bangkok and the Grand Palace itself.

Today the Grand Palace is still a centre of ceremony and of the monarchy, and serves as a museum and tourist attraction as well

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew is a royal chapel situated within the walls of the palace. Incorrectly referred to as a Buddhist temple, it is in fact a chapel; it has all the features of a temple except for living quarters for monks. Built in 1783, the temple was constructed in accordance with ancient tradition dating back to Wat Mahathat, a royal chapel within the grounds of the royal palace at Sukhothai, and Wat Phra Si Sanphet at Ayutthaya. The famed Emerald Buddha is kept within the grounds of the temple.

The temple is surrounded on four sides by a series of walled cloisters, with seven different gates. Like those ancient royal temples of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, the Wat Phra Kaew complex is separated from the living quarters of the kings. Within these walls are buildings and structures for diverse purposes and of differing styles, reflecting the changing architecture during the various reigns of the kings. Despite this, most of the buildings within adhere strictly to classical Thai architecture. The establishment of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha dates to the very founding of the Grand Palace and Bangkok itself.

The Emerald Buddha is an image of the meditating Gautama Buddha seated in the lotus position, made of a semi-precious green stone, clothed in gold and about 66 centimetres (26 in) tall. The image is considered the sacred palladium of Thailand. It is housed in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Historical sources indicate that the statue surfaced in northern Thailand in the Lan Na kingdom in 1434. One account of its discovery tells that lightning struck a chedi in Wat Pa Yia (Bamboo Forest Monastery, later renamed Wat Phra Kaew) in Chiang Rai, revealing a Buddha covered with stucco inside. The Buddha was then placed in the abbot's residence, who later noticed that stucco on the nose had flaked off, revealing a green interior. The abbot removed the stucco and found a Buddha figure carved from a green semi-precious stone, which became known as Phra Kaew Morakot or in English the Emerald Buddha. ("Emerald" refers to its "green colour" in Thai, not its composition.)[5][6] Some art historians describe the Emerald Buddha as belonging to the Chiang Saen Style of the 15th century CE, which would mean it is of La Na origin.

The legend reports that King Sam Fang Kaen of Lan Na wanted it in his capital, Chiang Mai, but the elephant carrying it insisted, on three separate occasions, on going instead to Lampang. This was taken as a divine sign, and the Emerald Buddha stayed in Lampang in a specially-built temple (now Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao) for the next 32 years. In 1468, it was moved to Chiang Mai by King Tilokaraj, where it was kept in a niche in a large stupa called Chedi Luang.[7]

The Emerald Buddha remained in Chiang Mai until 1552, when it was taken to Luang Prabang, then the capital of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. Some years earlier, the crown prince of Lan Xang, Setthathirath, had been invited to occupy the vacant throne of Lan Na.

In 1564, King Setthathirath moved it to Vientiane, which he had made his new capital due to Burmese attacks and where the Buddha image was housed in Haw Phra Kaew. The Buddha image would stay in Vientiane for the next 214 years.

In 1779, the Siamese General Chao Phraya Chakri put down an insurrection, captured Vientiane and took the Emerald Buddha to Siam. It was installed in a shrine close to Wat Arun in Thonburi, the new capital of Siam. Chao Phra Chakri then seized the throne for himself and founded the Chakri Dynasty of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, where he would later be titled King Rama I. He shifted his capital across Chao Phraya river to its present location in Bangkok, and constructed the new Grand Palace including Wat Phra Kaew within its compound. Wat Phra Kaew was consecrated in 1784, and the Emerald Buddha was moved with great pomp and pageantry to its current home in the ubosot of the Wat Phra Kaew temple complex on 22 March 1784.

Rattanakosin Island is a historic area in the Phra Nakhon District. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River to the west and various canals to the east that were dug to serve as moats for what was originally the fortified city center. Situated on the eastern convex bank of a meander in the Chao Phraya River, the island is the site of the Grand Palace and Bangkok's City Pillar Shrine, among other places of historical significance.

History

King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) founded the city as the capital of his new Rattanakosin Kingdom in 1782.

Before Bangkok became the capital of Thailand, the capital city was Thonburi. The old city straddled the Chao Phraya, but was mainly settled on the western bank where the royal palace and other institutions were situated. The eastern bank was mostly home to Chinese and Vietnamese (forced) settlers.

When Phutthayotfa Chulalok established himself as king, he reestablished the capital on the eastern bank, relocating the prior settlers to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng. Now it is Bangkok's Chinatown. Fortifications were ordered to be rebuilt, and canals extended to form moats around the fortified city. The inner moat, created by connecting Rong Mai Canal and Talat Canal, is now known as Khlong Khu Mueang Doem (old city moat canal).

Khlong Rop Krung (canal encircling city) was merged from Bang Lamphu and Ong Ang Canals. The area enclosed by Khlong Khu Mueang Doem and the river is referred to as Inner Rattanakosin, while Outer Rattanakosin refers to the originally less developed area between the two canals. Two further small canals known as Khlong Lot (tube/straw canal) connect the inner and outer moats.

Khaosan Road or Khao San Road ) is a short (410 meter long) street in central Bangkok constructed in 1892 during the reign of Rama V. It is in the Bang Lamphu area of Phra Nakhon District about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew.

"Khaosan" translates as 'milled rice' or 'rice mill', a hint that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market. In the last 40 years, however, Khaosan Road has developed into a world-famous "backpacker ghetto". It offers cheap accommodation, ranging from "mattress in a box"-style hotels to reasonably priced three-star hotels. In an essay on the backpacker culture of Khaosan Road, Susan Orlean called it "the place to disappear." According to the Khao San Business Association, the road sees 40,000-50,000 tourists per day in the high season, and 20,000 per day in the low season.

The area is internationally known as a center of dancing, partying, and just prior to the traditional Thai New Year (Songkran festival) of 13–15 April, water splashing that usually turns into a huge water fight. One Thai writer has described Khaosan as "...a short road that has the longest dream in the world".

In July 2018, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), in an attempt to clean up Khaosan Road, announced that street vendors would be removed from the thoroughfare from 1 August 2018. The BMA intends to move them to a nearby area and restrict their trading hours to 18:00 to midnight. The Khaosan Street Vendors Association, representing some 300 vendors, rejected the move, citing financial ruin for vendors. Last-minute negotiations between the BMA and vendors proved fruitless as neither side has been willing to compromise. Khaosan vendors announced that, in defiance of BMA order, they will open as usual on 1 August. On the first day of the ban on stalls, roughly 70 percent of the vendors opened as usual in defiance of the police.

The BMA announced in 2019 that it will commit 48.8 million baht to transform Khaosan Road into an "international walking street". The US$1.6 million project, the first makeover of the road since its creation in 1892, will commence in October 2019, continue through the tourist high-season, and be completed by February 2020.

Wat Pavaranivesh Vihara Ratchawarawihan is a major Buddhist temple (wat) in Phra Nakhon district. Being the residence of Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana the late Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, it is the final resting place of two former kings of Chakri Dynasty. King Vajiravudh Rama VI and King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX.

The temple is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya order of Thai Theravada Buddhism, it is the shrine-hall of Phra Phuttha Chinnasi, a statue of the Buddha which dates to around 1357. Bowonniwet has been a major temple of patronage for the ruling Chakri dynasty. It is where many royal princes and kings studied and served their monkhood, including King Bhumibol and his son, the present king Vajiralongkorn.

The golden chedi at the wat's shrine carries the relics and ashes of Thai royals. The two viharas are closed to public. The T-shaped bot holds a magnificent Sukhothai-period Buddha, cast in 1257 CE to celebrate freedom from the Khmers.

The murals on the bot's interior walls were traditionally light and limited in their subject matter and style. They were painted to appear three-dimensional. Monk artist Khrua In Khong introduced Western style in the murals depicting Buddhist subjects.

In 1836, Prince Bhikkhu Mongkut arrived at the temple and became its first abbot, founding the Thammayut Nikkaya order. He stayed at the temple for 27 years before acceding the throne of Siam as King Rama IV.

His great-grandson, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), was ordained a monk at Wat Phra Kaew, and resided in Bowonniwet for 15 days in 1956. Bhumibol's mentor, Somdet Phra Yanasangworn, eventually became abbot of the temple, and later the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. In 1978, King Bhumibol's son, King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), was also ordained and spent 15 days at Bowonniwet. Several of his sons from his second wife, Yuvadhida Polpraserth, later did the same.

In October 1976, exiled dictator and former Prime Minister, Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, returned to Thailand as a novice monk to enter Bowonniwet. This sparked large public demonstrations and a bloody crackdown that became known as the Thammasat University massacre or the "6 October Event".

Mahakan Fort is the easternmost fort of Rattanakosin's walls, now situated next to Phan Fa Lilat Bridge of Ratchadamnoen Avenue and the junction of Khlong Maha Nak (the beginning of Saen Saep Canal) and Khlong Rop Krung. The fort, also octagonal in shape and in three levels, has a diameter of 38 metres (125 ft) and a height of 19 metres (62 ft), measured to the roof of the octagonal tower. Mahakan Fort has rectangular battlements on both its lower and upper levels, while the connected 180-metre (590 ft)-long section of the city walls features sema-shaped battlements. The fort and walls were also restored in 1981 for the city's bicentennial.

Along with Phra Sumen Fort, Mahakan is one of two remaining citadels out of the original 14 that were built around Rattanakosin Island back when invasions from Burmese and other armies were a constant threat. The octagonal fortress has three tiers rising to a guard post. Cannons placed around the thick outer walls now loom over the surrounding footpaths.

Near Mahakan Fort, between the city wall and the canal, lies an old community whose wooden houses serve as an example of historic vernacular architecture. The community has been engaged in a decades-long struggle against eviction by the BMA, which intends to develop the area as a public park. Although agreements had been made in the 2000s to preserve and develop the neighbourhood as a living museum, the deals later broke down, and the BMA began demolishing houses whose owners accepted compensation in 2016. Other residents are still resisting eviction as of 2017, and there are still hopes that some of the buildings will be preserved. As of April 2018, all remaining residents have been evicted, and plans are underway to tear the remaining buildings down. However, the Mahakan Fort Community’s Facebook page has announced an initiative to create an online database about the Mahakan Fort community, and is crowdsourcing information about the site. In July 2018, BMA was completely developed surrounding area of Mahakan Fort to become a public park and the fort exhibition.

Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan usually shortened to Wat Saket is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district.

The temple dates back to the Ayutthaya era, when it was known as Wat Sakae. When Bangkok became the capital, King Rama I (1737–1809) renovated the temple and gave it its present name. Its name roughly translated as "wash hair". Since it was believed that on the way the king returned from the war. He stopped by to take a bath and wash his hair here, before entering inner city.

Phu Khao Thong (“Golden Mountain”) is a steep artificial hill inside the Wat Saket compound.

Rama I's grandson, King Rama III (1788–1851), decided to build a chedi of huge dimensions inside Wat Saket, but the chedi collapsed during construction because the soft soil of Bangkok could not support the weight. Over the next few decades, the abandoned mud-and-brick structure acquired the shape of a natural hill and was overgrown with weeds. The locals called it the phu khao, as if it were a natural feature.

During the reign of King Rama IV, construction began of a small chedi on the hill. It was completed early in the reign of his son, King Rama V (1853–1910). A relic of the Buddha was brought from Sri Lanka and placed in the chedi. The surrounding concrete walls were added in the 1940s to stop the hill from eroding. The modern Wat Saket was built in the early 20th century of Carrara marble.

An annual festival is held at Wat Saket every November, featuring a candlelight procession up Phu Khao Thong to the chedi, along with a long red robe wrapped around the chedi, similar to "Hae Pha Khuen That" festival of Wat Phra Mahathat, Nakhon Si Thammarat province in sounthern. Devotees write their names and names of family members on the robe and set the mind to pray, believed to have been fulfilled in prayer. This festival has been carried on since the reign of King Rama V.

At the same period, a great Loi Krathong festival will take place at the temple, along with freak shows such as Phi Krasue ("floating female ghost head with glowing viscera dangling below"), Khon Song Hua ("two-headed man"), Mia Ngu ("snake's wife"), or fun games Sao Noi Tok Nam ("little girl falling into water") etc. It has been well known among Bangkokians since the past, also at nearby Fort Mahakan community was a hub of the fireworks shop. But after the demolition of the fort and its community, fireworks trading has been banned ever since.

Rommaninat Park or spelt Romaneenart Park (park of woman who was regent"), commonly known as Khuk Kao ("old prison") is a public park in Bangkok. Located between Siriphong and Maha Chai Roads, Samran Rat Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District between Giant Swing, Wat Suthat and Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre. The total area is about 29 rai (round about 11 acres).

The park is located on the former site of Klong Prem Prison, built on the royal initiative of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1890, later in 1972 renamed to Bangkok Remand Prison. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn (later King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X)) presided over the official opening of Rommaninat Park and Corrections Museum on August 17, 1999.

Wat Pho, also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name, Wat Photaram.

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site. It became his main temple and is where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

History

Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam. The name refers to the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The date of the construction of the old temple and its founder are unknown, but it is thought to have been built or expanded during the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703). The southern section of Wat Pho used to be occupied by part of a French Star fort that was demolished by King Phetracha after the 1688 Siege of Bangkok.

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River from Wat Pho. The proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang ('royal monastery').

In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction, Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these retrieved Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete. In 1801, twelve years after work began, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and it became the main temple for Rama I.

Arrival of the King of Siam at Wat Pho, 13 October 1865 The complex underwent significant changes over the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851 CE). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 56 rai (22 acres), and most of the structures now present in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt during this period, including the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects. On 21 February 2008, these marble illustrations and inscriptions was registered in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand’s first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates.

The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration.

Saphan Phut night market’ also known as ‘Memorial Bridge night market’, is a popular shopping destination in Bangkok covering a decent area. The market is named after the towering Memorial Bridge based in the heart of old Bangkok. It is located right next to the flower market and is a pretty hip place for younger locals to hang out and do their thing.

In this market, you can find a large range of products available at cheap prices. One can buy branded replica items and second hand items that include DVDs, video games, T-shirts, Jeans, handbags, shoes and accessories. Some original bamboo artists express their talents as this market! If you are feeling hungry after late night shopping, you can enjoy delicious chicken wings, squid eggs, spicy sausages and snacks at pushcarts and nearby food stalls. There is everything from noodles to pork balls on a stick, Pad Thai, Som Tam (papaya salad) and many others. If you want to present someone a flower bouquet, you do not have to waste your time in searching.

The Memorial Bridge (Thai: สะพานปฐมบรมราชานุสรณ์) is a bascule bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand, connecting the districts of Phra Nakhon and Thonburi.

The bridge opened on 6 April 1932, by King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Chakri Dynasty and the foundation of Bangkok, shortly before the Siamese coup d'état of 24 June 1932. In English the bridge is commonly known as Memorial Bridge, however in Thai, it is most commonly known as Phra Phuttayotfa Bridge, after King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the first king of the Chakri Dynasty. The name is more commonly shortened as Saphan Phut or Phut Bridge or Buddha Bridge (meaning: Bridge of Buddha).

Construction of the bridge was started on 3 December 1929[3] by Dorman Long, Middlesbrough, England, under the supervision of Italian technicians from SNOS (Società Nazionale Officine Savignano).The bridge used to have a double-leaf bascule-type lifting mechanism, which is now unused.

On 5 June 1944, as part of the bombing of Bangkok in World War II, a force of B-29 Superfortresses, in a test of their capabilities before being deployed against the Japanese home islands, targeted the bridge. Their bombs fell over two kilometers away, damaging no civilian structures, but downed some tram lines and destroyed a Japanese military hospital and the Japanese secret police headquarters. It was not until 1947 that Thai authorities learned of the intended target. Eventually, it was taken out by the Allies and rebuilt in 1949.

Santa Cruz Church, also known as Kudi Chin, is a Roman Catholic church in Bangkok. It is in Khwaeng (sub-district) Wat Kanlaya of the Thon Buri District on the west bank of Chao Phraya River, in the neighbourhood known as Kudi Chin. A church was first built on the site, which had been granted to a community of Portuguese Catholics, around 1770. It was then the main Catholic church in Bangkok, and served as the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam until 1821, when Assumption Cathedral was completed. The current building, in Renaissance Revival style, was built in 1913–1916 to replace a second structure from 1845.

Kian Un Keng Shrine , known internationally as Guanyin Shrine, is an ancient Chinese joss house in Bangkok.

This shrine is a Hokkienese joss house. It's one of the oldest shrines in Thonburi and Thailand by King Taksin and brought the Goddess Guanyin statue to be enshrined here. The Guanyin Bodhisattva is different from other shrines because mostly the Guanyin in other shrines are in standing position, but here the Guanyin is in sitting position. The Guanyin statue is made of wood carved and coated with gold. There are also murals and paintings of the classical novel Romance of Three Kingdoms, including dolls decorated on the wall decorations for visiting and worshipping.

Principal Guanyin statue Its name is assumed to be the origin of the name Kudi Chin, which means "Chinese monk's dwelling".

Originally, the shrine was divided into two shrines, Guan Yu and Qingshui shrines. Later, both were in disrepair during the reign of King Taksin. During the reign of King Rama III, the Hokkienese therefore demolished both shrines and rebuilt with Chinese courtyard architecture along with brought the Guanyin statue enshrined instead since then. Its name meaning "building that create peace and tranquility for the Hokkienese".

It is currently under the care of Simasatian and Tantiwetchakun families, which are their offspring.

Moreover, during the annually Vegetarian Festival this shrine will have a special event unlike other shrines. That is a ceremony similar to Loi Krathong in order change one's bad fortune for the people who make merit here. Including a boat trip to visit another shrine on opposite side of the river, Chó-su-kong Shrine in Talat Noi, Chinatown.

Bang Luang Mosque is a historic mosque in Bangkok located in Soi Arun Amarin 7, Thonburi side within Kudi Khao Community by the Khlong Bangkok Yai (formerly Khlong Bang Luang) near mouth of Chao Phraya River, it's also known as Kudi Khao ( white cloister) and Kudi To Yi ( To Yi's cloister).

This mosque was built in the early Rattanakosin period (approx. 1784) during the reign of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) by Muslim merchant named "To Yi". The mosque is decorated with Thai brick and painted in white color, which got the Mosque name. It is the only Thai-style mosque in the world, decorated with three-tiered art including Thai, Chinese and European. There's embodiment of the spirit of the goddess reflecting the devotion of Allah. Furthermore, there're tombs located in front of the mosque and the mosque is now being classified as “Unseen in Bangkok” tourist destination.