Leaving China we flew to Siem Reap in jungle-covered Cambodia. This portion of our trip, though brief, had an important objective: to visit the “Angkor Complex”. Like many of you, we had never heard of this particular site before we started planning our trip (Cambodia hasn’t done the best marketing job in the west), but after a quick internet search and chatting with a few friends who have visited here previously, we knew we had to detour to go see it.
Some quick history: Many temples and buildings are in the “complex” but the most famous is Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a temple complex built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. First Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist, it is the world's largest religious building.
The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.
By now you’re probably getting some sense of the unbelievable mystique of this place, but our adventure in the Angkor complex was only beginning. We next visited Bayon, built in the late 12th century or early 13th century, it was the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, and stands at the center of Angkor Thom, the ancient capital city of the Angkor empire.
The temple is known for its eerily serene sculptures of stone faces built on all four sides of monumental pillars.
We then continued into the Angkor Thom city discovering incredible numbers of temples, palaces and other massive ruined structures amidst the jungle.
Departing the Angkor Thom city center, we made our way to another huge complex called Ta Prohm. Located approximately half a mile east of Angkor Thom, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.
This dazzling complex was lost to time for such a long period, the jungle nearly reclaimed it entirely. While restoration efforts have effectively removed much of the earth and brush, some of the trees among the temple are over 400 years old and, as you will see below, now a part of the temple as much as the stones it was originally built with. Further restoration will require a delicate balance of reconstruction and preservation of the jungle.
Shortly after visiting Ta Prohm, we had lunch and, while eating, an intense jungle rainstorm moved in and trapped us at our restaurant. By the time we departed, we decided to simply head back to our hotel and pick up with more touring the following day.
Some quick history: Many temples and buildings are in the “complex” but the most famous is Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a temple complex built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. First Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist, it is the world's largest religious building.
The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple".
By now you’re probably getting some sense of the unbelievable mystique of this place, but our adventure in the Angkor complex was only beginning. We next visited Bayon, built in the late 12th century or early 13th century, it was the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, and stands at the center of Angkor Thom, the ancient capital city of the Angkor empire.
The temple is known for its eerily serene sculptures of stone faces built on all four sides of monumental pillars.
We then continued into the Angkor Thom city discovering incredible numbers of temples, palaces and other massive ruined structures amidst the jungle.
Departing the Angkor Thom city center, we made our way to another huge complex called Ta Prohm. Located approximately half a mile east of Angkor Thom, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.
This dazzling complex was lost to time for such a long period, the jungle nearly reclaimed it entirely. While restoration efforts have effectively removed much of the earth and brush, some of the trees among the temple are over 400 years old and, as you will see below, now a part of the temple as much as the stones it was originally built with. Further restoration will require a delicate balance of reconstruction and preservation of the jungle.
Shortly after visiting Ta Prohm, we had lunch and, while eating, an intense jungle rainstorm moved in and trapped us at our restaurant. By the time we departed, we decided to simply head back to our hotel and pick up with more touring the following day.
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