THE CLASSIC: ANGKOR WAT
You will only work out why this temple complex is so perfect to the
human eye as you venture into the interior and observe the precise
symmetry of the architecture. From the intricate reliefs to the staged
cone peaks, the buildings shun human imperfection for the religious
ideal of the perfect equilibrium. Concentric circles are intrinsic to
the shapes here and they symbolise Mount Meru, a holy Hindu mountaintop.
This mammoth complex contains 1200 temples and Angkor Wat is both the
name of the complex as well as the main temple that most armchair
travellers are familiar with - the one facing what looks like a lake.
That lake is in fact a rather extravagant moat. Built by a King, Angkor
Wat is testament to the once-great Khmer empire which stretched from
Malaysia to Burma.
The Khmer empire ruled until the 15th century and after that the
temples were maintained by monks who reside in the temples to this day,
making it an active religious site. While it was built as homage to
Hinduism, Buddhism was introduced as the official religion at the end of
the 12th century. The monks buoy the temples with brightness and life
and if you manage to photograph the robed men as they walk with heads
bowed between the black and white temples of Angkor Wat, you'll have a
photo worthy of National Geographic.
THE FACES: ANGKOR THOM
The Bayon temple is in the centre of Angkor Thom, the last of the
extravagant Khmer cities to be built. More modern than Angkor Wat, it
marks the time when Buddhism began to take hold in this region. With
more than 50 towers, each side of the tower has a face carved into and
out of the stone.
They represent both the ego of the King, allegedly who they slightly
resemble and the enlightened beings or bodhisattvas of Buddhism. These
faces peer out subtly but they are realistic enough to be startling.
With a benevolent smile and eyes you can't be sure are open or closed,
some refer to them collectively as the Mona Lisa of South East Asia. The
faces look serene and satisfied and with a length of 4 metres and a
direction facing each point of the compass, they have a good view of the
majestic Angkor region.
Another building in the Angkor Thom complex is Phimeanakas which was
built long before neighbouring structures. Take time to find it and you
will be rewarded with what appears to be an ancient stairway to heaven.
The ruins have depleted just enough to render this a stone staircase
with no end point - just a vertical drop off at the top in the sky
.
THE JUNGLE: TA PROHM
Is it a tree supporting a temple or a temple supporting a tree? You
decide in this, the most magical of temples where nature mingles with
man's designs for higher beings, the goddess of wisdom in this case, to
whom the structure was dedicated to. The jungle has stone upturned by
tree scaffolding and leaves have embedded into sandstone after centuries
of erosion. Seeing saffron-robed monks wander between stone embedded
with tree roots and branches makes this destination more than a historic
monument.
Discovered by French naturalist Henry Mouhot in 1860 the temple was
intentionally left as found, overrun by jungle. It was used to film
Angelina Jolie's film Tomb Raider and for the more vintage film fans,
Indiana Jones. There is, in fact, a Tomb Raider tree where Jolie picked a
flower and was sucked beneath the earth in the film. The film setting
needed no embellishment - this place is as surreal as it gets. It is
maze-like and with alleys shaded by vine you will feel like you are in
your own adventure film. It is considered the third most important
temple in Cambodia - after Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, placed first and
second respectively.
Write by Khmer 2das
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