Sawadee ka Treasure Makers!

Sawadee ka Treasure Makers,


I AM TAYA! You have found me : P

I am friend of Christabel, Head of Treasure Makers Organisation. I understand from her that you have a mission to save Ayutthaya. We had a long chat last week and I promise her to help you as much as I can. You see, I love Ayutthaya and been living here for 15 years. I wouldn't want it to be abolished for urbanization. This is a beautiful city. We have to STOP it from happening. I do my best to help you know more about Ayutthaya.


Here are some useful information for you:

Entrance into Wat Phra Ram - a restored temple ruin located on Ayutthaya's city island inside the Historical Park in Pratu Chai sub-district.

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya lasted over 400 years and stands in history as the longest surviving kingdom in Siamese history. As a site, it was bound by waterways which acted both as access for trade and external affluence, as well as protection, like an erstwhile moat surrounding the castle crucible of a city’s largesse and its inhabitants.

Through the centuries, Ayutthaya thrived with trade, exchange, artistic prowess and culture, evident in the way it had constructed its various architectural features, murals and religious monuments. Foreign vassals and citizens from France, India, Japan and China made Ayutthaya their home, and left indelible traces of their lives and their culture embedded in historical documents as well as archaeological ruins under study.

The evolution of Ayutthaya and its ability to assimilate cultural influences and remain critical as an economic partner around the region as well as from far away played major roles in its lengthy reign and existence. Despite the miscibility of external exchanges and the early global community, Ayutthaya still presents evidence of having strived for, and created a distinctive identity through the archaeological study of its past landscape and its artefacts.

Today, Ayutthaya is preserved as an historical park. Its past splendour having been researched extensively, and rebuilt where needed, to re-present the visionary arcade of the great kingdom in its halcyon era. After the sacking of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in the 18^th century, the Siamese moved their centre to Bangkok, taking with them remnants of Ayutthaya’s legacy in the process of renewal, and establishing a fresh and prosperous reign.

It is the spirit of pride, enterprise and adaptability one can see and experience through the journey into the history of Ayutthaya, its built heritage, its artefacts and the documentary archive of its wisdom and practices.  

A Must Reading list

1) https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/576

2) A History of Ayutthaya : Siam in the Early Modern World, Baker, Chris and Phongpaichit, Pasuk, Cambridge University Press 2017

Here are the themes or areas on Ayutthaya you can explore... I believe these will trigger your new treasure idea:

1.    Culture and Lifestyle: Art, Music, Literature, Performance, Food

2.    Architecture and Landscape: Monuments, Ruins, City Design

3.    Economic and Trade: External Influences, Waterways

4.    Technology and Innovation: Transportation, Water management

Some leading questions around the themes which you might want to explore:

• How can stories from other places and times relate to our current lives?
• What can the art forms and architecture of other cultures teach us about ourselves and about life?
• In what ways do the arts reflect as well as shape culture?
• How does where we live influence how we live?

PS:

I hope the above information can help you kickstart.

Be right back, my neighbour's need my help.