Wat Ounalom ( km, វត្តឧណ្ណាលោម,

UNGEGN The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is one of the nine expert groups of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deals with the national and international standardization of geographical names. E ...

: , ALA-LC: , ; also Wat Unnalom and several other spellings) is a wat located on

Sisowath Quay Sisowath Quay ( km, តីរវិថីព្រះស៊ីសុវត្ថិ, Preah Sisowath Quay) is a 3-kilometre riverfront strip along the Tonlé Sap River in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, lined with hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops ...

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, near the Royal Palace of Cambodia. As the seat of Cambodia's Mohanikay Order, it is the most important wat of Phnom Penh, and the center of Cambodian Buddhism. It was established in 1443 and consists of 44 structures. It was damaged during the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 ...

period but has since been restored. The main complex houses a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

that contains what is believed to be an eyebrow hair of Lord Buddha and an inscription in

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

Etymology

The name of Wat Ounalom commemorates one of the holiest relics in Cambodia, a hair (''lom'') from the whorl (''unna'') between the eyebrows of the Buddha.

Gallery

References

15th-century Buddhist temples Buddhist temples in Phnom Penh Religious buildings and structures completed in 1443 {{Buddhist-temple-stub