By Serge Kreutz
The ancient
city of Ayutthaya, 72km (45mi) north of Bangkok and the capital
of Thailand (or rather Siam, as the country was named until
1946) for 417 years, is one of the main tourist attractions
of the country. Many ancient ruins and pieces of art can
be seen in the city that was made the capital of a new rising
kingdom in 1350, after having been a small trading town before.
During the
period when Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand, 33 kings
of different dynasties ruled and made it a settlement that was,
for most of the time it existed, considerably larger than any
city in Europe, reaching the grandeur of ancient Rome. In
1767 it was conquered and completely destroyed by the Burmese.
Ayutthaya
today is an assemblage of magnificent ruins that should not be
missed by anyone with just the slightest interest in either history
or art.
