Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Bangkok

Wat Arun (lit. The Temple of Dawn) is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Bangkok, Thailand.

This temple is located in the Bangkok Yai district, on the right (west) bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple owes its name to the Hindu god Aruna, symbol of dawn.

Built during the Ayutthaya period, between 1778 and 1784 it housed the Emerald Buddha seized in Vientiane. It was almost completely rebuilt starting in 1792 by King Rama II, with work completed under Rama III (1824–1851).

West entrance.
The entrance is from the west, via Thanon Wang Doem Street.

Ticket office.
The ticket office is on the right.

Shrine to the Buddha images for the seven days of the week.
Before we reach the ticket office there is this small shrine dedicated to the Buddhas of each day of the week. Each day of the week also has its own color.

There are Buddha images that depict significant moments in the life of Buddha. These are known as the Buddha images for the seven days of the week. Each event occurred on a specific day of the week, and each corresponding Buddha image has a different posture and gesture.
According to Thai astrology, there are two images for Wednesday Buddha, one for the morning one for the evening.
People, who born on a certain day of the week, may be most interested in a Buddha Image related to that day, like when commissioning a Buddha image.
See more at Thai calendar - Wikipedia and Colors of the day in Thailand - Wikipedia.

Some visitors wear traditional Thai costumes.

Queue to buy tickets at the box office.

Dress code.
It is not permitted to enter with certain types of clothing.

More specifically, it is not allowed to enter with little clothing on.

Two large towers near the west end of the Ordination Hall.

West end of the Ordination Hall.
The Ordination Hall has an image of Niramitr Buddha supposedly designed by Rama II.

The front entrance to the Ordinance Hall has a roof with a central spire, decorated with colored ceramics and stucco covered in colored porcelain.
Inside, there is a large altar decorated in red, gray and white marble.
There are two demons, or guardian figures of the temple, in front.
The murals were created during the reign of Rama V.

Ordination Hall (left) and Prang (center).
The Ordination Hall is on the left and the central Prang (conical tower) is in the center, slightly to the right.

South side of the Ordination Hall.

East side of the Ordination Hall.

Entering the Ordination Hall.
The entrance to the Ordination Hall is to the east.

The ordination hall is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual (upasampada) and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Patimokkha.
In Thailand, ordination halls are called ubosot or bot, derived from the Pali term uposathagara, meaning a hall used for rituals on uposatha ("Buddhist sabbath") days.
The ubosot is the focal point of Central Thai temples, whereas the focal point of Northern Thai temples is the stupa.
In Northeastern Thailand (Isan), ordination halls are known as sim, as they are in Laos.
The ubosot, as the wat's principal building, is also used for communal services.
See more at Thai ordination halls - Wikipedia.

Small stupa northeast of the Ordination Hall.

Northwestern satellite prang seen from the east.
The corners of the main prang are surrounded by four small satellite prangs.

The central prang symbolises Mount Meru of the Hindu cosmology.
The satellite prang are devoted to the wind god, Phra Phai.

Main prang seen from the northwest.

Entering the prang enclosure.
The main feature of Wat Arun is its central prang. The corners are surrounded by four smaller satellite prang.

Northwestern satellite prang viewed from southwest.
The prang are decorated by shells of Mauritia mauritiana and bits of porcelain, which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China.

Yaksha and monkey supporting figures decorating the satellite prang.
The Yakshas are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness.
Yakshas are an important element in Thai temple art and architecture. They are common as guardians of the gates in Buddhist temples throughout the country since at least the 14th century.
They are mostly depicted with a characteristic face, having big round bulging eyes and protruding fangs, as well as a green complexion.
See more at Yaksha: In Thailand - Wikipedia.

Central prang.
The central prang is encrusted with colourful porcelain.

This is interpreted as a stupa-like pagoda encrusted with coloured faience.
The height is reported by different sources as between 66.8 m (219 ft) and 86 m (282 ft).
In Buddhist iconography, the central prang is considered to have three symbolic levels:

base for Traiphum indicating all realms of existence,
middle for Tavatimsa, the Tusita Heaven where all desires are gratified,
and the top denoting Devaphum indicating six heavens within seven realms of happiness.

Gate guardians (Dvarapala).
Access to the stairs leading to the main Prang is protected by two gate guardians.

A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard") is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the mace (gada).
In most Southeast Asian languages (including Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Javanese), these protective figures are referred to as dvarapala. Sanskrit dvara means "gate" or "door", and pala means "guard" or "protector".
See more at Dvarapala - Wikipedia.

East mandapa.
The cardinal points are marked by mandapas.

A mandapa or mantapa is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals.
In Thai, it is called a mondop. It features often in Thai temple art and architecture, either in the form of a Hor Trai (a temple library) or as an altar shrine such as the one in Wat Chiang Man in Chiang Mai.
See more at Mandapa - Wikipedia.

Buddha statue inside the east mandapa.

Southeast satellite prang viewed from southwest.

Stairs between the south mandapa (left) and the main prang (right).
The very high rate of inclination of the stairs of the central prang attests to the difficulty of reaching the higher levels of existence. In Buddhism, the three worlds refer to the following destinations for karmic rebirth:

the world of desire (Kamaloka), typified by base desires, populated by beings from hell, preta (hungry ghosts), animals, humans and inferior demigods.
the world of form (Rupaloka), predominantly free from the most basic desires, populated by gods who live in dhyana, a possible destination of rebirth for those well practiced in dhyana.
the formless world (Arupaloka), an incorporeal realm populated with four heavens, a possible destination of rebirth for practitioners of the four formless stages.
See more at Trailokya - Wikipedia.

Climbing the central prang.

The stairs of the central prang.

Northeast satellite prang seen from the south.

Descending from the central prang.

North mandapa seen from the northeast.

Central prang seen from the northeast.

Sacred tree on the northeast corner.
The Bodhi Tree ("tree of awakening"), also called the Mahabodhi Tree, Bo Tree, is a large sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment or buddhahood circa 500 BCE under this tree.

In the Dharmic (Indian-origin) religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, the ecology, such as trees, rivers, fauna, and mountains, is sacred and revered objects of worship.
See more at Bodhi Tree - Wikipedia and Sacred tree: Indic religions - Wikipedia.