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The temples of Angkor Wat are spread
40 miles around the village of Siem Reap. The architecture is unique to the
Khmer empire, and Angkor was intended as a testament to the god-kings of the
time. It was built between the 8th and 13th centuries and range from single
towers to vast stone temple complexes, and represented the huge Khmer empire
that stretched from Vietnam into southern China towards India. After the Thais
sacked the complex until the mid 1800's, Angkor was regarded a legend, a mythical
lost city buried deep in the jungle. Even now it still seems to carry this same
aura. Angkor was discovered again in 1860 by a French explorer, and even during
the recent civil war has remained relatively intact over the years.
Angkor Wat Angkor Wat was built to honour the Hindu god Vishnu. To give you some idea of the size of Angkor, here are some figures are taken from the Lonely Planet guide: 'It is three storeys high enclosing a square surrounded by intricately linked galleries. 30 metres above the third level and 55 metres above the ground is the central tower, which adds a sublime unity to the structure. There are almost 1000 metres of bas reliefs stretching round the perimeter corridors.' I spent almost a whole day exploring Angkor Wat temple. Wandering round the dark corridors just before sunset, with the shadow of the tower looming above was quite an eerie experience. It is possible climb all over the structure, to gaze down upon the jungle and protruding temple towers and listen to the din of the monkeys and birds at twilight. |
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A view of
Angkor Wat from the moat - click to enlarge |
Looking up
at the Bayon temple - click to enlarge |
One
of the serene faces of the Bayon temple - click to enlarge |
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The Bayon is the main temple in Angkor Thom, a city beside Angkor. There are 50 towers with 170 huge smiling faces of the god Avalokitesvara. |
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| Bas
reliefs on the Bayon showing dancing Apsaras - click to enlarge |
Ta
Prohm - click to enlarge |
Ta
Prohm - click to enlarge |
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The jungle temple of Ta Prohm (above) has been left exactly as the French explorers found it in the 1860's. The jungle is slowly creeping in and grows throughout the stonework of the structure. |
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| Preah
Khan - click to enlarge |
Ta
Prohm guides - click to enlarge |
Sarah,
Heng and me outside Angkor Wat - click to enlarge |
| Šusethebuddha.productions2002 | ||