| AYUTTHAYA TOURIST CENTER (SALA KLANG) |
| Text, maps & photographs by Tricky Vandenberg Updated May 2016 |
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| (View of Sala Klang) |
| (Queen Suriyothai on frontage) |
| (Entry to the exhibition hall) |
| (Lay-out of the exhibition) |
| (Exhibition hall - section 1) |
| (Exhibition hall - section 4) |
| Sala Klang Jangwat Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya is situated in the center of Ayutthaya in Pratu Chai Sub-district. The imposing building stands at the western end of Rojana road, south of the City Pillar Shrine. The frontage of the building contains the high reliefs of six great kings and queens from the Ayutthaya Kingdom; namely, Ramathibodi I aka King U-Thong (r.1351-1369) , King Borommatrailokanat (r.1448-1463), Queen Suriyothai, Naresuan (r.1590-1605), Narai (r.1656-1688) and King Taksin (r.1768 -1782). Sala Klang serves multiple purposes. It houses the Ayutthaya National Art Museum, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) - Ayutthaya branch Information office and a TAT exhibition on Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya’s tourism. The right wing of the ground floor serves as the TAT’s Tourist Information Centre. The first floor gives access to the Art Museum and to the TAT exhibition on Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya’s tourism possibilities. The Ayutthaya Historical Exhibition Hall is divide in five sections: Ayutthaya as a World Heritage site; Ayutthaya's tourist attractions; art treasures of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya; Ayutthayan's way of life, a riverine civilization; and the colors and attractions of Ayutthaya. The first section glorifies the Ayutthayan civilization; the second section gives an overview of the most important sites within the province; a model of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet and a ground plan overview of the city surroundings, indicating the most important historical sites via a button play; the third section lead us to the treasures of art of the former Kingdom of Ayutthaya mainly based on the religious beliefs in the Traiphum (Three Worlds) cosmology; the fourth section introduces us into the lifestyle of the people of Ayutthaya with information about local crafts work, markets, food and dishes and all the possibilities for "Homestay" in one of the rural villages around Ayutthaya (Ban Sarai, Ban Rang Chorakhe, Ko Koet and Bang Ban). At the last section you will find a video presentation on the “Life in the Historical City of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya”. The upper floor houses the Ayothaya Contemporary Art Gallery, established with the main objective to be a stage for expression as well as an exchange of ideas and lifestyles among artists, students, academics and interested visitors. In earlier times At the end of the 17th century the residence of the Phrakhlang was situated on the actual spot of the Ayutthaya Tourist Center. This information can be derived from Engelbert Kaempfer's map drafted in 1690. In front of the building ran the - by the foreigners called - Phrakhlang Road (1), which was in fact part of the Maha Rathaya Road, the main road leading from the Victory Gate to the Grand Palace. Going south in direction of the Victory Gate stood the Royal Warehouse (Phrakhlang Sinkha), in which immediate vicinity a fresh market was situated. [1] The Phrakhlang was the minister responsible for the external relations and maritime trading affairs in the Ayutthaya era. He was in charge of the royal warehouses, the commercial monopolies, and the relations with foreigners. The Phrakhlang was referred to as the "Barcalon" by the western foreigners and was in fact the King's personal merchant. He held a Sakdina of 10,000 Rai. (2) Footnotes: (1) The French called it la 'Rue du Barcelon'. (2) Sakdina or dignity marks system served to indicate one's status within the Siamese civil hierarchy and in the Siamese social hierarchy. It was also related to the manpower under someone's control. [2] References: [1] Phanna phumisathan Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya: Ekasan jak Ho Luang - Geographical description of Ayutthaya: Documents from the palace - Dr Vinai Pongsripian - Bangkok (2007). [2] In the King's Trail - Remco Raben and Dhiravat Na Pombejra (1997) - page 36. |
| (Exhibition hall - section 4) |
| (Detail of Engelbert Kaempfer's draft map - Anno 1690) |
