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Photo: Suwannee.payne · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Buddhist temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan is the main Buddhist temple (wat) of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand, a crucial trade crossroad between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Founded in the 8th century, where a Hindu shrine once stood around 5th–8th centuries, the monastery has been a regional religious centre ever since. The main stupa of the temple, Phra Borommathat Chedi, was built by King Sri Dhammasokaraja in the early-13th century to establish a symbol for the Theravada Buddhism sect in the region. The temple houses a relic of Gautama Buddha. The religious and local traditions have continued at the monastery for more than 1,500 years, including the Nakhon Si Thammarat chronicle tradition, the annual cloth-wrapping ceremony for the Great Reliquary and the Menora dance drama.