Sukhothai Old City - Wat Si Sawai

Surrounded by a moat and two walls, the Wat Si Sawai, a Khmer-style temple built at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th c., before the capital Sukhothai was founded, first served the Hindu cult; following the addition of a bot and wiharn it became a Buddhist temple. Characteristic are the three brick prangs, each seven storys high, covered with stone slabs and stucco. Buddha statues can still be seen in the trapezia of the upper story. All three prangs encircle a cella; that of the higher central prang is above a gallery connected to the bot, whereas the other two are only accessible from outside. Fragments of the relief, which originally decorated the walls of the prang, are on display in the Ramkhamhaeng Museum. The temple grounds also contain a chedi and two other temples on a square base.