11 March 2010

Mahakan Fort in Bangkok Travel

Mahakan Fort

Mahakan Fort is a big octagonal-shaped fort. Its width measured from the outside base from north to south is 38 metres. Its height from ground to top of the battlements(Bai Sema) is 4.9 metres and from the ground to the roof is 35 metres. The structure is made from bricks coated with cement. The base of the structure is under the ground. The fort has three floors of which there are staircases leading to the first and the second floor. All of walls are decorated designs in the shape of big anglular battlements. The highest floor of the fort is an octagonal-shaped tower with one entrance. The roof’s frames are made of wood, and the roof covered with the two-tiered tiles, its shaped like cone-shaped lid or like inverted lotus leave. At the ground floor, 6 cannons are located in Sema(battlements) cavities.



The fine arts department registered the fort as the national ancient monument in 1949. In the period that field Marshal Sarit Thanarat was the prime minister, lights were installed to make the fort attractive at night. During the reign of king Rama IX, a picture of The Mahakan fort had been printed in the 10 baht banknote for a while. In 1982 the fine arts department renovated the dilapidated part of the fort and painted it many times because the fort is located in community area. So, the leaders of the foreign countries, the official foreign visitors, including many travelers from all parts of the world always visit the fort.

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