WAT SI CHUM

Wat Si Chum,The "temple of the bodhi tree" was built in the late 13th century. It is  located north of the old city walls  about 1,500 metres north of Wat Mahathat, with a moat serving as the boundary, might well be the most enigmatic of Sukhothai's temples.

The most striking feature of the temple is the large solid building (mondop) at the rear of what remains of the main prayer hall. A single narrow slit, almost the full height of the mondop, is all that pierces the structure. Through this narrow entrance, you can glimpse the serene face of a single large seated Buddha image that almost completely fills the space enclosed by the building.

 The mondop once had a roof, but it is now gone. The mondop is 32 metres square, 15 metres high and the walls are 3 metres thick. This is because there is a narrow, cramped passageway between the outer and inner walls allowing devotees to climb up and around the image .A passageway in the inner left wall leads to a stairway to the roof. On the ceiling of the passageway are more than fifty engraved slate slabs, dating back to the mid 14th century, illustrating scenes from the Jataka tales, stories of the Buddha’s previous lives.
It is believed that the ritual of circumambulation ( or climbing of the stairs ) was a symbolic ascent to Buddhahood

The Buddha image over 11 metres in width called Phra Achan is itself quite striking, and not just for its setting. The image is known as Phra Acana, which means 'one who is not frightened' or 'unperturbed'. The fingers of his right hand, which is extended down to summon the Earth Goddess, are long and delicate. They have been covered in bits of gold leaf by contemporary Thais. According to legend, a Burmese army invading Sukhothai fled at the sight of this image.

 

The Assembly Hall with its columns in ruins and the seated image of Buddha in a smaller mandapa, north of the main Mandapa.

Outside the Wat are small stalls of Thais making and  selling handicrafts souvenirs  using  coconut leaves and papers. The 93 year old lady on the pic below is one of them.