Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda


The most important landmark of the capital city of Cambodia is the Grand Royal Palace which known as Silver Pagoda by western people. The Royal Palace was divided into many parts according to its function. It was built in 1866 in wood and expanded in 1962 by King Norodom Sihanouk. He had the floor lay with 5,329 solid silver tiles. But the most valuable is the Emerald Buddha and 90 kg golden Buddha statue decorated with 9,584 diamonds. Beside the luxurious statues, there lay a 600-meters long wall in another side of the building, which was decorated with depicting scenes of Ream Ker epic, or Ramayana. Visitors visiting Cambodia must find their time to trace out the most wonderful Royal Palace in the country which can mark the characteristic of the Cambodian culture.