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Magical Sunset Through The Clerestory Of Kham Yat Palace

24 Dec, 2019

On Monday (December 23) at 5pm, hundreds of Ang Thong residents went to see the sun set behind the clerestory of Kham Yat Palace, creating a beam of light shining into the ancient ruins that date back to the Ayutthaya era. The phenomenon only occurs on December during the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. As the sun goes down, the light will shine through the small window above the door onto the red wall of the royal pavilion reflecting the building, thought sadly the colour of the wall has now faded. 

This Palace, built in the reign of King Boromakot, was used to be the abode of King Uthumphon, the 33rd and penultimate monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, while he was ordained as a monk. He stayed for a period of time before returning to Wat Pradu Songtham. The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya mention that King Uthumphon was asked to leave the monkhood and take over government to help fight the Burmese incursion.

At present only the four walls of an elevated one-floor royal residence remain. These are made of brick and mortar and measuring 20 meters long by 10 meters wide. The roof is in ancient architectural style, very rarely seen nowadays. It located in the area of abandoned temple, Wat Pho Thong.

The Fine Arts Department renovated and listed the palace as an ancient monument on 8 March 1935.

The phenomenon can also be seen today (December 24) at 5 pm.

 

 

The Nation

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