The Renewal of Ayutthaya
A KINGDOM
Ayutthaya used to be a glorious place and also was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam in 1350. But all that changed when the Burmese destroyed almost all of its beauty. Fortunately, we can still see its magnificent appearance from the ruins of Ayutthaya which still exists until today.
The Kingdom of Ayutthaya
During its fine days, Ayutthaya was one of the world’s largest and international urban areas and also the central global diplomacy and business. It was a place where there were three rivers connecting the city to the sea. And these rivers that were surrounding the city was a major impact that prevented the city from major flooding. Basically, it was a perfect place to live until only its ruins remain.
THE BURMESE AFTERMATH
After the downfall, one general which was Phraya Taksin began reinforcing, gathered all the strength that was left, and began striking back. He then entrenched a capital at Thonburi, Bangkok. Taksin rise through and took the throne, becoming known as King Taak-Sin or Taksin or often known as Thai’s hero. The ruins of Ayutthaya still remains, the city was re-established, and has now become the capital of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya.
Phraya Taksin, the general of Ayutthaya
PROTECTION OF HISTORY
The ‘reincarnation’ Ayutthaya did not stop there. One of its ascending process recently, includes the help of UNESCO. Besides listing Ayutthaya in the World Heritage Site because it helped shaped the history and culture of Thailand, they recently also launched a plan to develop a flood risk mitigation. This event took recognition when Thai authorities have taken care of the historic building, but it was only a short-term effort.
In 2013, they then decided to take action and reconstruct the hydraulic modeling using a more advanced form of technology. UNESCO included national and international partners to develop the mitigation plan in order for it to become a success.
UNESCO's plan
This work was not only done to protect Ayutthaya from flooding, but also helps other factors done in the city like, food-related activities that is done by the Royal Thai Government, the study of the Chao Phraya River Basin, the pans of the Fine Arts industry to keep the history and cultural aspect of the city, and many more. This initiative will also make “Ayutthaya the first World Heritage site in Southeast Asia with a management plan for flood risk mitigation, setting an example for other World Heritage sites around the region, ” said Gwang-Jo Kim, Director of UNESCO Bangkok.
REFERENCES
Good findings on Water Management on Ayutthaya! The entire kingdom is surrounded by the river across a flat land. You might want to explore what treasure you can create to come up with something useful for today's needs?
ReplyDeleteCan explore this further -> "This initiative will also make “Ayutthaya the first World Heritage site in Southeast Asia with a management plan for flood risk mitigation, setting an example for other World Heritage sites around the region ”
ReplyDeleteWhat did they do? How are they going to do that? Can we learn from them and have a visual or interactive flood (or other natural disaster) risk mitigation plan as well?