Wat Pho, Bangkok

Wat Pho, Bangkok (Thailand)

Wat Pho also spelled Wat Po is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District Bangkok Thailand. 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 pronounced. 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 houases 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.