Cambodia
/ Phnom Penh / Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
The Royal
Palace, located between 184th Street and 240th Street, was built
in 1866 by the French. The entry is at the Samdech Sothearos
Boulevard, formerly Lenin Boulevard, not far from the
banks of the Tonle Sap river.
Photo: Throne Hall at the Royal Palace
Among various
buildings within the walls the Throne Hall ranks as most
important. This Khmer-style building was erected only in 1917.
It is used only on special occasions. Attached to the Throne Hall
is a tower, 59 metres high.
South of
the Throne Hall are the Royal Treasury and the villa
of Napoleon III. This villa was built in 1866, not in Cambodia,
but rather in Egypt. There it served the French Empress Eugenie
as accommodation on occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal.
One year later Napoleon III gave the villa to the Cambodian king
as a present.
Photo: Silver Pagoda
At the northern
area of the palace grounds is the Silver Pagoda. The original
pagoda, built in 1866 by King Norodom, was, for the most part,
made of wood. In 1962, it was expanded by Sihanouk. The name of
the pagoda derives from the fact, that its floor is made of more
than 5,000 silver blocks weighing more than 6 tons. When visiting
the Silver Pagoda, one should not wear shorts or hats. Entrance
fee is two US Dollars per person; anyone bringing a camera is
charged another two Dollars; the extra fee for video cameras is
five Dollars.
The most
important Buddha statue of the temple is, like in Bangkok's royal
temple, an Emerald Buddha, which in this case is not made
of emerald, but of Baccarat crystal. It dates back to the 17th
century.
Behind the
Emerald Buddha is another Buddha statue made of 90 kilograms
of gold and decorated with 9,584 diamonds. It was cast
in 1906.
The inside
of the 600-metres surrounding walls of the Silver Pagoda are decorated
with murals displaying scenes from the Ramayana epos. East
of the pagoda is an equestrian monument of King Norodom -
which is actually a monument of the French Emperor Napoleon III.
The head of the original statue was removed and replaced with
one showing King Norodom.
Photo: Murals displaying scenes from the Ramayana epos
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