BANGOKO - the bangkok shirne hit by a bomb blast Monday was originally built to appease superstitious construction workers and morphed into a popular attraction that typifies the kingdom's unusual blend of Hindu and Buddhist tradition.
A policeman inspects the cordoned-off site of a bomb blast at the popular Erawan shirne in the heart of Bangkok's tourist and commercial centre.
An astrologer recommended building a shirne to the four-faced Hindu god Brahma,known locally as Phra Phrom. local legend states that once the shirne went up, The problems besetting workers stopped and devotees have flocked there ever since.
shirnes to the Hindu gods ganesha and shiva can be found just a few hundred metres away from the erawan while thais have their own version of the Ramayana epic- -the Ramakien.
in recent years Chinese devotees in particular have flocked to the shirne, fuelled by the belief that prayers and donations there will bring them good luck and fortune.
The fervour with which locals treat the shirne is so great that in 2006 a mentally ill man who attacked the statue of Brahma with a hammer was beaten to death by an angry mob.
The shirne has also been witness to key recent moments in Thailand's febrile political history thanks to its location at the ratchaprasong intersection.
The key crossing has been taken over by both sides of Thailand's political divide at various times during recent street protests.
In 2010 much the intersection was the scene of a mi;itary crackdown against Red shirt supporters loyal to ousted premier Thanksin Shinawatra.
When the crackdown finished a large mall oppossite the shirne was gutted by fire.
Five years on the shirne has once more been witness to violence in the capital.