Facing the eastern wall of the Grand Palace is the yellow-and-white former palace building now occupied by the Ministry of Defense. On the front lawn of the ministry is a sort of open-air museum displaying cannons down through the ages. The oldest, named Akanirut, was made in Spain in 1624 and was used to defend the old capital of Ayutthaya. The largest is called the Phaya Tani cannon because of its size. As many a guidebook once pointed out, most of these 40 cannons were aimed at the Grand Palace. However, a few years ago the cannons were re-arranged so they didn't point at the palace.
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