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Phnom
Penh
Attractions
King's
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.
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.
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.
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