Siem Reap
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Siem Reap (Khmer:សៀមរាបអង្គរ), is a province located in northwestern Cambodia, on the shores of the Tonle Sap lake. The provincial capital is Siem Reap town. The name literally means "Siam Defeated", a reminder of the centuries old conflict between the Siamese and the Khmer. The province came under the control of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya and was later returned to Cambodia in 1907 after French gunboat diplomacy pressured Thai concession of the area. This area became part of a disputed territory between France and Siam(now Thailand) which led to the Franco-Thai War in 1941, resulting in victory for Thailand and a return back to Thai control. The province again reverted to Cambodia in 1946, after the end of WW2 and French diplomatic pressure. Today it is best known for the ruined temples of Angkor. | |
Angkor Wat
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Angkor (Khmer:អង្គរវត្ត) is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 13th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara, meaning "city".[1] The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a "universal monarch" and "god-king", until 1431, when Ayutthayan invaders sacked the Khmer capital, causing its population to migrate south to the area of Phnom Penh. The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonle Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually. In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate system of infrastructure connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1000 square kilometres to the well-known temples at its core.[2] The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres in total size.[3] Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.[4] | |
Angkor Thom
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Angkor Thom (Khmer:អង្គរធំ; literally: "Great City") was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII. It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north. Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride. (Higham, 121) Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however. Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest, and Angkor Thom overlapped parts of it. The most notable earlier temples within the city are the former state temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas, which was incorporated into the Royal Palace. The Khmers did not draw any clear distinctions between Angkor Thom and Yashodharapura: even in the fourteenth century an inscription used the earlier name. (Higham 138) The name of Angkor Thom — great city — was in use from the 16th century. Bayon temple, Angkor Thom The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. Thereafter the existing structures continued to be modified from time to time, but any new creations were in perishable materials and have not survived. In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609, when an early western visitor wrote of an uninhabited city, "as fantastic as the Atlantis of Plato" which some thought to have been built by the Roman emperor Trajan. (Higham 140) It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000-150,000 people. | |
Kravan Temple
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Prasat Kravan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទក្រវ៉ាន់) is a small 10th century temple consisting of five reddish brick towers on a common terrace, located at Angkor, Cambodia south of the artificial lake or baray called Srah Srang. Its original Sanskrit name is unknown. The modern name in Khmer, "Prasat Kravan", means cardamom temple. The temple was dedicated to Vishnu in 921 CE, according to inscription on door jambs[1]. The site was cleaned from vegetation in the Thirties by Henri Marchal and Georges Trouvè. Afterwards the towers were restored on Bernard Philippe Groslier's initiative from 1962 to 1966[2], adding some new bricks which are marked with a "CA" (meaning "Conservation Angkor")[3]. The temple is oriented to the East and surrounded by a small moat. Its exterior is striking for its classical lines and symmetry, the central and the south tower have superstructures which take advantage of false prospective by simple means of diminishing tiers. The sanctuaries interiors are remarkable for the large bas relief depictions of Vishnu and Lakshmi that have been carved into the walls of reddish brick, connected by a vegetable compound. This type of sculptured artwork rather common in Cham temples, but almost unique in known Khmer monuments[4] | |
Kravan Temple
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beginning of 11th century, Jayavarman V. Suryavarman I Hindu (Shiva) An imposing five tier temple mountain built predomoniantly in sandstone surrounded by a moat. Perhaps central to the next capital. Best approached from the original eastern entrance from where the massive form of the temple is presented framed in the trees at the end of the entrance causeway. The clear constructional intention is all the more visible since the decoration was never completed. Inscriptions on door frames of the eastern gopuras relate to dedications made in 1007 | |
Srah Srong
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It was digged in the mid-10th century, by initiative of Kavindrarimathana, buddhist minister of Rajendravarman II[1]. Then it was modified about year 1200 by Jayavarman VII, who added the laterite landing-stage at its western side too, likely because the East Baray had been overwhelming by sediment and begun malfunctioning[2]. French archeological expeditions have found a necropolis close to it.[3] | |
Buyon Temple
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The Bayon (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat Bayon) is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences. The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak.[2] The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The main current conservatory body, the JSA[disambiguation needed], has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat.[3] | |
Bakong Temple
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In 802 AD, the first king of Angkor Jayavarman II declared the sovereignty of Cambodia. After ups and downs, he established his capital at Hariharalaya. Few decades later, his successors constructed Bakong in stages[1] as the first temple mountain of sandstone at Angkor[2]. The inscription on its stele (classified K.826) says that in 881 King Indravarman I dedicated the temple to the god Shiva and consecrated its central religious image, a lingam whose name Sri Indresvara was a combination of the king's own and the suffix "-esvara" which stood for Shiva ("Iśvara")[3]. According to George Coedes, the devarāja cult consisted in the idea of divine kingship as a legitimacy of royal power, but later authors stated that it doesn't necessarily involve the cult of physical persona of the ruler himself[4]. Bakong enjoyed its status as the state temple of Angkor for only a few years, but later additions from the 12th or 13th centuries testify that it was not abandoned. Toward the end of the 9th century, Indravarman's son and successor Yasovarman I moved the capital from Hariharalaya to the area north of Siem Reap now known as Angkor, where he founded the new city of Yasodharapura around a new temple mountain called Bakheng. | |
Bonteay Srie
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Consecrated in 967 A.D.[citation needed], Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to a courtier named Yajnavaraha (Khmer: យជ្ញវរាហៈ), who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman(Khmer: ព្រះបាទរាជេន្រ្ទវរ្ម័ន). The foundational stela says that Yajnavaraha was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those who suffered from illness, injustice, or poverty.[3] Originally, the temple was surrounded by a town called Isvarapura. It has been speculated that the temple's modern name, Banteay Srei, is due to the many devatas carved into the red sandstone walls. Yajnyavaraha's temple was primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Originally, it was carried the name Tribhuvanamahesvara — great lord of the threefold world — in reference to the Shaivite linga that served as its central religious image.[4] However, the temple buildings appear to be divided along the central east-west axis between those buildings located south of the axis, which are devoted to Shiva, and those north of the axis, which are devoted to Vishnu. The temple's modern name, Banteay Srei — citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty — is probably related to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings themselves.[4] Some have speculated that it relates to the many devatas carved into the walls of the buildings. | |
Neak Pean Temple
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Some historians believe that Neak Pean represents Anavatapta, a mythical lake in the Himalayas whose waters are thought to cure all illness.[3] Neak Pean was originally designed for medical purposes, as it is one of the many hospitals that Jayavarman VII built. It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance. Four connected pools represent Water, Earth, Fire and Wind. The ancients believed that going into these pools would balance the elements in the bather, thus curing disease. In the middle of the four healing ponds is the central water source. There is a statue of Bahala (Bodhisattva Guan Yin transformed into a horse), as a symbol of drowning prevention. | |
Neak Pean Temple
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Phnom Bakheng (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាខែង) at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu temple in the form of a temple mountain. Dedicated to Shiva, it was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman (889-910). Located atop a hill, it is nowadays a popular tourist spot for sunset views of the much bigger temple Angkor Wat, which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km to the southeast. The large number of visitors makes Phnom Bakheng one of the most threatened monuments of Angkor. [1] Constructed more than two centuries before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was in its day the principal temple of the Angkor region, historians believe. It was the architectural centerpiece of a new capital, Yasodharapura, that Yasovarman built when he moved the court from the capital Hariharalaya in the Roluos area located to the southeast. An inscription dated 1052 AD. and found at the Sdok Kak Thom temple in present-day Thailand states in Sanskrit: "When Sri Yasovardhana became king under the name of Yasovarman, the able Vamasiva continued as his guru. By the king's order, he set up a linga on Sri Yasodharagiri, a mountain equal in beauty to the king of mountains."[1] Scholars believe that this passage refers to the consecration of the Phnom Bakheng temple approximately a century and a half earlier. Surrounding the mount and temple, labor teams built an outer moat. Avenues radiated out in the four cardinal directions from the mount. A causeway ran in a northwest-southeast orientation from the old capital area to the east section of the new capital's outer moat and then, turning to an east-west orientation, connected directly to the east entrance of the temple.[2] Phnom Bakheng is a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods, a status emphasized by the temple’s location atop a steep hill. The temple faces east, measures 76 meters square at its base and is built in a pyramid form of six tiers. At the top level, five sandstone sanctuaries, in various states of repair, stand in a quincunx pattern—one in the center and one at each corner of the level’s square. Originally, 108 small towers were arrayed around the temple at ground level and on various of its tiers; most of them have collapsed.[3] Jean Filliozat of the Ecole Francaise, a leading authority on Indian cosmology and astronomy, interpreted the symbolism of the temple. The temple sits on a rectangular base and rises in five levels and is crowned by five main towers. One hundred four smaller towers are distributed over the lower four levels, placed so symmetrically that only 33 can be seen from the center of any side. Thirty-three is the number of gods who dwelt on Mount Meru. Phnom Bakheng's total number of towers is also significant. The center one represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the four lunar phases, each with 27 days. The seven levels of the monument represent the seven heavens and each terrace contains 12 towers which represent the 12-year cycle of Jupiter. According to University of Chicago scholar Paul Wheatley, it is "an astronomical calendar in stone." [4] Phnom Bakheng is one of three hilltop temples in the Angkor region that are attributed to Yasovarman's reign. The other two are Phnom Krom to the south near the Tonle Sap lake, and Phnom Bok, northeast of the East Baray reservoir. Following Angkor's rediscovery by the outside world in the mid-19th century, decades passed before archeologists grasped Phnom Bakheng's historical significance. For many years, scholars' consensus view was that the Bayon, the temple located at the center of Angkor Thom city, was the edifice to which the Sdok Kak Thom inscription referred. Later work identified the Bayon as a Buddhist site, built almost three centuries later than originally thought, in the late 12th century, and Phnom Bakheng as King Yasovarman's state temple. | |
Terrace of the Elephant
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The Terrace of the Elephants (Khmer: ព្រះលានជល់ដំរី) is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom, a ruined temple complex in Cambodia. The terrace was used by Angkor's king Jayavarman VII as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army. It was attached to the palace of Phimeanakas (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភិមានអាកាស), of which only a few ruins remain. Most of the original structure was made of organic material and has long since disappeared. Most of what remains are the foundation platforms of the complex. The terrace is named for the carvings of elephants on its eastern face. The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience hall. It has five outworks extending towards the Central Square-three in the centre and one at each end. The middle section of the retaining wall is decorated with life size garuda and lions; towards either end are the two parts of the famous parade of elephants complete with their Khmer mahouts. | |
