Wat Phra Kaew full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, Thai: วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม
On the eastern side of the temple premises there are nine towers. They were erected during the reign of Rama I. Each tower is affixed with glazed tiles, with different colours for each tower, supposed to denote colours of the nine planets.
Prang Phanom rung
remains. After the outer gallery one reaches the inner gallery, which is divided in long and narrow rooms. It served as a wall around the principal tower. This last gallery leads to the third and last naga bridge, another small copy of the first one.
The bridge leads directly into the main sanctuary. After the antechamber and the annex, one reaches the principal tower. Double porches lead out in all directions. The inner sanctum used to have the "linga", the divine symbol of Shiva. Currently, only the "somasutra" remains which was used to drain water during religious rites. The entrances have various lintels and icons depicting Hindu religious stories, e.g., the dancing Shiva and the five yogi's. The south entrance is guarded by a sandstone statue.
Apart from the main tower, other buildings in the compound are:
• Two brick sanctuaries built around the 10th century, northeast of the tower.
• The minor sanctuary southwest of the tower with a sandstone altar for a sacred image. It was built with sandstone in the 11th century. Prang Noi has only one entrance facing east. The sanctuary is square with indented corners, giving it a round feel.
• Two Bannalai southeast and northeast of the principal tower. The buildings are rectangular and have only one entrance. They were built in the last period, around the 13th century, and used as a library for holy scriptures.
It is a walled-in enclosure, with both the door frames and walls carved in beautiful desings of Lophuri Period style with Khmer influence.