Monday, February 20, 2012

Calator in Thailanda 25. Parcul Istoric Si Satchanalai (1) / Traveller in Thailand 25. The Historical Park in Si Satchanalai (1)

Si Satchanalai is located 550 km North of Bangkok. Together with the Historical Park Sukhotai, the Historical Park Si Satchanalai is part of the UNESCO treasury under the name of  'Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns' The ancient Chinese and Thai documents, mentioned Si Satchanalai even in the 11 th century, as an pre-Sukhotai site, under the name of Chalieng. In time, it felt under Sukhotai influence and white the king reigned in Sukhotai, his son, the prince, ruled Si Satchanalai. This was an important location, politically, economically, and religiously. Glazured ceramics has been producted here and exported to Philipine, Japan, Indonesia. When Sukhotai was subdued by Ayutthaya (1370-1371), Si Satchanalai still retain for a while his status, being governed by a member of the royal family of Sukhotai. The name have been change again in Sawankhalok.

In 1767, when Ayutthaya was conquered by Burmese state, the towns have been abandoned.   Sawankhalok moved right on the banks of the river Yom, and the name of Si Satchanalai was preserved only for the ancient part, where the Historical Park is today.

Here, in Si Satchanalai, a lot of temples have been built. They were made of laterit, a local tropical soil, which was cutted as bricks. The colors of these soils were brown, yellor or red. They have been used also for the construction of famous monuments like the Angkor Wat temples. The temples have been adorned with stucco figures. Some of them represent Hindu characters, some Khmer. Those in Si Satchanalai are of a great artistic value.

We visited firstly Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng, a temple in the forest, exposing a big sitting Buddha, in Sri Lankan style. Then, we entered the Historical Park (100 bht/person and 50 bht for the songthaew). Here, the first monument was Wat Chang Lom, characterised by a big chedi, adorned by 39 huge elephants, bigger than the real size.

Si Satchanalai se afla la 550 km nord de Bangkok. Impreuna cu Parcul Istoric Sukhotai, Parcul Istoric Si Satchanalai face parte din patrimoniu UNESCO sub denumirea de "Orasul istoric Sukhotai si orasele istorice asociate". Asezarea a fost mentionata in documente istorice chineze si thai inca din secolul al 11-lea, ca Chalieng. Sapaturi arheologice, efectuate intre 1993-1994, au scos la iveala dovezi ale existentei unei activitati umane si cladiri pre-Sukhotai in zona. Cel mai de jos strat dateaza din secolul al 3-lea, iar ceea ce se gaseste mai la suprafata - perioada Sukhotai - sunt ruine de cladiri din caramida rosie si acoperisuri ceramice din perioada antica a Regatului Khmer. Stilul obiectelor de arta descoperite apartine secolului al 12-lea. In perioada de sfarsit a existentei sale, Si Satchanalai s-a transformat dintr-un oras autonom, intr-unul guvernat de catre printul mostenitor al Regatului Sukhotai. Mai ales in timpul lui Li Thai au fost restaurate si construite in Si Satchanalai multe temple. Dupa ce Sukhotai a cazut sub stapanirea Regatului Ayutthaya (1370-1371), Si Satchanalai si-a mai mentinut o vreme statutul de oras important, guvernat doar de catre un membru al fostei familii regale Sukhotai.

Sawankhalok, cum a fost numit Si Satchanalai in timpul stapanirii Ayutthaya, era mare producator de ceramica glazurata, exportata in Filipine, Japonia, Indonesia s.a. In 1767, cand Ayutthaya a fost infranta de Burma, orasele au fost abandonate. Sawankhalok s-a mutat chiar pe malul raului Yom, in timp ce denumirea de Si Satchanalai a ramas doar pentru orasul vechi, istoric.

Si Satchanalai a fost deopotriva un important centru politic dar si religios, cu practici religioase diverse. Templele, construite din laterit (cf. DEX, acesta este un "sol din regiunile tropicale, colorat în roșu, în galben sau în cafeniu și rezultat prin alterarea chimică a rocilor"), taiat in forma de caramizi (material intens utilizat in zona, de ex. la construirea templelor de la Angkor Wat), erau decorate cu stucatura. Sculpturile de acest gen de la Si Satchanalai sunt considerate realizari artistice deosebite ale poporului Thai.

Prima oprire este la Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng, un templu catre care urcam 115 trepte. Este retras in padure si strajuit de stoluri de pasari care cuibaresc in coroanele copacilor invecinati. Un impresionant Buddha sezand priveste senin pe deasupra lor, spre zare. Suntem singurii vizitatori si daca nu ar fi ofrandele, ai putea crede ca nu vine nimeni aici. Statuia este construita in stilul celor din Sri Lanka, din blocuri de laterit.
Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng
Intrarea in Parcul Istoric, cu care ne incepem vizita la Si Satchanalai, costa 100 bht/persoana si mai platim 50 bht pentru masina. El are o suprafata de 45 kilometri patrati si include 281 de monumente inventariate.

Localizat chiar in centrul orasului istoric, se afla Wat Chang Lom, care se distinge printr-un chedi frumos, construit si el in stilul Sri Lankan. El are o baza patrata, inalta, decorata cu sculpturi reprezentand elefanti. In total, sunt 39 de elefanti stand in picioare, mai inalti decat in realitate.
 Wat Chang Lom






24 comments:

Joop Zand said...

BEAUTIFUL WORK....... very well done.

Greetings, Joop

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Joop!

Anonymous said...

beautiful photos!

VP said...

One more excellent set of images,,,

joo said...

Beautiful statue of Buddha!

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks againg, Theanne!

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, VP!

Traveling Hawk said...

Yes, it's a little strange, Joo!

Randy said...

Interesting statues at the end.

Traveling Hawk said...

Those are the best kept elephants, Randy.

Helma said...

Traveling Hi Hawk,

this is also a blog with beautiful pictures. The stairs as well as religious shrines and buildings.

I also see birds on the two-picture, but I can not see what birds are.

Greetings, Helma

Traveling Hawk said...

I didn't recognize them, Helma. They are a kind of herons, I think.

Kumiko said...

Beautiful pictures!

They're very impressive to me.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Kumiko!

magda said...

Fantastic photos my dear friend and very interesting place, withmuch details!!!
Best regards

cartim said...

Salbatic dar frumos.

Imi plac asrile surprinse de tine, de fapt, toate fotografiile sunt frumoase ,ca cel care intra latine pe blog , are impresia ca a fost si el prin acele indepartate tinuturi.

Budha acesta estte putin diferit de restul pe care le-am mai intalnit pe aici, e mai putin colorat...

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, dear Magda, for commenting here!

Traveling Hawk said...

Da, e mai straniu cumva, cartim. Ma bucur ca iti place ce vezi!

RIZALENIO said...

Clothed Buddha looks so majestic. I feel her power.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks for the comment, Rizalenio!

LifeRamblings said...

the historical park looks wonderful. thanks for the free tour.

Helma said...

That's what I thought to Traveling Hawk and I think they are quite beautiful to see.

Greetings, Helma

Traveling Hawk said...

It IS wonderful, Life Ramblings! It was great to walk there. Almost in all those places there have been so few visitors, if any, so we could have the parks only for us, which was great!

Traveling Hawk said...

Yes, Helma, it was a huge flock of them!