Temple Island

Thailand has nearly 18,000 Buddhist temples, called wats, throughout the country. The temples provide religious sanctuaries for Thailand’s Buddhists, who account for 95 percent of the population.

The temple of Wat Arun in Bangkok, Thailand, is among the most famous of the more than 400 Buddhist temples and monasteries in the city. Commonly known as the Temple of Dawn, the Wat Arun displays the prang style typical of the architecture of the former kingdom of Ayutthaya (1350–1767). The central prang rises 104 m (340 ft) above a temple compound pavilion that contains images of Buddha’s life.