Cambodia: Angkor Temples
No trip to Cambodia would be complete without a visit to the incredible Angkorian temple complex outside Siem Reap. The temples were started by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the 12th century, and are a contemporary wonder of the world and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most common images of this tremendous monument is Angkor Wat however it is the largest religious structure in the world, and archaeologists are still finding parts of this incredible monument and the infrastructure built to support it. Both Hinduism and Buddhism were influential in the pre-Angkorian and Angkorian empires and both of these ideologies, in addition to Cambodian animism, are very prevalent and important for contemporary Cambodians.
I am going to emphasize this at the top of this post, and continue to emphasize it, but these temples are so gorgeous and impressive and photos will never do them justice. These temples were originally constructed of very intricately carved sandstone and marble which was then covered in plaster and painted. The structures we see today are not only worn down by time, the elements, and tourists walking all over and touching them, but they are also monochromatic. I spent a lot of time staring at the friezes and towers thinking about how they must have looked in full color.
The map below gives an idea of just how huge the central Angkor Wat temple and its surrounding complex is — the moat around Angkor Wat is 3 miles (5 kilometers) long. Our group opted to rent bikes and bike around to about one temple a day, and it took a full day to bike out to the temples from Siem Reap and visit, it’s HUGE. Most visitors take at least three days to visit, but you could spend a lifetime. My friends, classmates, and architects Satya Seang and Vitou So have both spent a lot of time photographing and sketching the temples so give them a follow! I visited Angkor Wat, Bayon (within Angkor Thom), Ta Prohm, Ta Nai, and Banteay Srei (not pictured on this map, it’s a few miles northeast). We also visited Sambor Prei Kuk on the way to Siem Reap.
Sambor Prei Kuk
We took off on a Monday for Siem Reap, and made a stop in the Kompong Thom province, about halfway to Siem Reap for a tour of the Sambor Prei Kuk temples led by Dr. So Sokuntheary. Dr. Sokuntheary has been involved with the research, documentation, and conservation of the temples since at least 1998, and a simple search of her name will bring up her numerous archaeological contributions to the rediscovery and conservation of these structures. She now teaches at Norton University and the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh in the faculties of architecture, having received her Ph.D from Waseda University in Japan. The information I am providing about Sambor Prei Kuk is from two pamphlets that she published: Sambor Prei Kuk, Kompong Thom, Cambodia and Sambor Prei Kuk Conservation Project.
The Sambor Prei Kuk monument was part of the ancient city of Isanapura, the capital of Chenla in the 7th century, formerly part of the Funan kingdom. In the early 7th century Chenla asserted its independence. The monuments were founded by King Isanavarman I, and the decorative style of Khmer architecture and sculpture is said to have been derived from Sambor style. From Chinese accounts, this city may have been abandoned in the second half of the 7th or 8th century, when Chenla was divided into ‘land’ and ‘water’ Chenlas — this was a dark period for this society’s history. With the accession of Jayavarman II, who founded the beginnings of the Angkor empire in the 9th century, the history of Sambor Prei Kuk re-emerges. Decorative details of Prasat Tao are similar to the style of monuments during the reign of Jayavarman II, particularly the lion statues. The city is often known as the pre-Angkorian capital city, but these findings suggest that the city was in use during the Angkor time as well.
The lion statues also resemble statues found at Phnom Kulen, and triangulate the age of the sculpture and temples to the reign of Jayavarman II. The ‘South temple’ compound of Prasat Yeai Poeun had a lot of remarkable shrines, and our first of many temples eaten by trees. The name of Isanavarman I is carved into many inscriptions on this temple and it is believed that he constructed the temple in the beginning of the 7th century. Many of the shrines are octagonal representing all of the cardinal directions, and are decorated with circular medallions.
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is the crown jewel of the GIGANTIC Angkor temple complex, which at its peak was occupied by 1.4 million people. The main temple is topped by five magnificent towers, and surrounded by a complex of galleries containing murals of Hindu and Buddhist mythology, creation stories, and the vanquishing of the Thais. Angkor Wat was the heart of the Khmer empire from the 9th through the 15th centuries… SIX HUNDRED YEARS OF BADASSERY, not to mention the centuries of Indochinese artistic-cultural development beforehand. This gigantic piece of laterite and sandstone was dedicated around 1150 to Vishnu and took about 30 years to complete.
There are A LOT of pictures below. They are presented in a progression across the moat causeway, through the first set of galleries, across the second causeway, and through the gallery complex to the main temple.
I know that there are tons of murals and carvings that I did not describe or touch on here, but it would be overwhelming to catalogue and research all of them. The Angkor Wat temple, and the legacy of the civilization that it represents, are an incredible feat of human engineering. The fact that such a gigantic complex was built out of stone with only human and elephant labor is incredible.
Bayon
Directly north of Angkor Wat, is the more-gigantic city of Angkor Thom. Surrounded by another gigantic moat, Angkor Thom is nested within an imposing stone wall whose portals bear the smiling face of bodhisattva Lokesvara (but it could be any number of people — jury’s still out). The temple was built in the late 12th or early 13th century by Jayavarman VII, a king who is known for his building sprees and took the Angkor empire to its greatest extents.
The Bayon temple sits in the center of Angkor Thom, and consists of 37 towers bearing the face of King Jayavarman VII. Or maybe his mother? Or maybe bodhisattva Lokesvara? Or maybe a combination of them? The result is an incredible space with nested intimate galleries that exaggerate the imposing scale of the faces. The faces feel so close, but out of touch. They are both smiling and judging, and it truly felt like another world. I could have spent a week puttering around this temple sketching every face and finding interesting enclosed spaces in which to contemplate the human condition. Definitely worth a visit!
Ta Prohm
We got up at 5am to bike the 6 miles from Siem Reap to Ta Prohm and enjoy some peace before the storm of tourists and onset of the unrelenting midday heat. Ta Prohm is famous for the dramatic way the structures are being eaten by the jungle, and was featured in the Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider movies. Ta Prohm was constructed around 1186 by Jayavarman VII (this guy!) as a Buddhist monastery and accommodated 12,000 people who lived and worked within its grounds. 80,000 people lived outside the temple to service and maintain the complex. Ta Prohm supplied provisions and medicines to the more than 100 hospitals that Jayavarman VII built during his reign.
I enjoyed the scale of this temple — Angkor Wat is so gigantic it’s hard to imagine how people used the space. Bayon and Ta Prohm have a more human scale in which I can image monks pacing and meditating.
Ta Nei
Our professor took us off the beaten path, down a dusty and sandy road north of Ta Prohm, to Ta Nei. This smaller temple was practically deserted — we saw only a few other tourists — and our prof said it was similar to his experience at Angkor Wat 10 years ago. While the temple was simpler and smaller than other temples we had visited, there were some interesting carvings, and though obstructed in a few places, there were numerous doorways to wander in and out of. The courtyard was full of rubble indicating there has not been as much attention to its restoration as other larger temples, so I hope it receives more restoration in the future. Unlike other temples, there is not a lot of information or interpretation available for this temple, but it is really peaceful and shady!
Banteay Srei
On our fourth day in Siem Reap we rented a van and drove out to visit Kbal Spean, Banteay Srei (the art gallery of Angkor), and the Cambodian Landmine Museum. In my opinion, Banteay Srei is by far the most beautiful of the temples we visited. The carvings are so well-preserved and it highlights just how ornate all of the temples must have been in their heyday. REMEMBER these carvings were originally covered in plaster, which was further decorated and painted. The temple is constructed out of pink sandstone by one of the king’s trusted dignitaries and his brother. It was dedicated to Shiva in 967 and finished during the reign of Jayavarman V (968-1001). Carvings depict scenes from the Ramayana, including the Abduction of Sita and the battle of monkey gods Valin and Sugriva.
