Wat Chiang Man is the oldest temple in the city of Chiang Mai. It is believed to have been built by the founder of the city, King Mengrai, on the spot he stayed while building Chiang Mai, more than 700 years ago.
It is a relatively small temple, and many buildings have been restored since the temple was originally built, nonetheless, I thought it was a gem, and in fact we visited the temple twice during our visit. The temple is located inside the city wall, just near the north gate.
There are two wiharns (prayer halls) in Wat Chiang Man. Behind the main wiharn, stands one of the most elegant chedis(pagoda) I've seen;the base of the chedi is lined with fifteen,life-size elephants crafted out of plaster. Inside the main wiharn, stands the oldest Buddha image in the city, dating back to 1465.The smaller wiharn contains two very small and very revered images of Buddha that are believed to have powers to protect against disaster and bring rain.The first is an elegant crystal Buddha, and the other is an 8th century bas-relief Buddha. Both of these beautiful Buddha images are kept behind glass and bars and hard to photograph.
Here are some photos of Wat Chiang Man:
Altar in the smaller wiharn
Behind the glass and bars live the two small, revered Buddha images described above.
Altar in main wiharn
The smaller Buddha image to the right of the large Buddha(the one with the begging bowl) is the oldest in Chiang Mai.
Staircase Naga
Chiang Man ubosot
Comments (5)
Your temple photos are amazing. I love the details you show and write about. We did not see any Buddhist temples in the cities we visited on Borneo so I am really enjoying seeing the cultural differences.
Posted by Marta | June 9, 2009 9:35 AM
Posted on June 9, 2009 09:35
It's such an awesome temple! I love those life-size elephants. And so many wonderful Buddhas! I can understand why you visited this one twice. :)
Posted by Annie | June 9, 2009 10:30 AM
Posted on June 9, 2009 10:30
Beautiful photos! I love all the elephants. It must have been so peaceful there.
Posted by girasoli | June 10, 2009 3:11 AM
Posted on June 10, 2009 03:11
The pagoda with the fifteen elephants is stunning and the grounds look very lovely.
Posted by María I. | June 10, 2009 5:08 PM
Posted on June 10, 2009 17:08
Thanks all for the comments.
girasoli, it was very peaceful,all the temples were.
Posted by candi | June 10, 2009 9:21 PM
Posted on June 10, 2009 21:21