Angkor Wat at Siem Reap
Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddist complex covering 162.6 hectres. It is the largest religious structure in the world. It was constructed in 1150 as a Hindu temple. It was built by King Suryavarman II near the capital of the Khmer empire. It is surrounded by a moat more than five kilometres long and a wall 3.6 kilometres long.
The complex fell inti disuse until rediscovered. It underwent retoration in 20th century. It is regarded as one of the best examples of Khmer architecture and is a symbol of Cambodia. A part of the temple is reproduced on the Cambodian flag. It hosts more than 2.5 million tourists a year. There are many other temples built by later kings nearby.
We were up before dawn to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat.
The main path leading up to Angkor Wat.
The entrance.
Inside...
...and there is a lot of inside.
A detail of one of the windows.
Inside with the guide explaining the story depicted by the carving on the wall.
A view acros th noat that surrounds the site.
The Tonle Om (Southern) Gate.
A detail of the balustrade on the bridge over the moat to go through the Tonle Om Gate,
A detail of two of the faces of statues on the bridge.
The inner side of the gate.
The Bayon Temple.
More views of the Bayon Temple. It is younger than Angkor Wat but reused stones from ther temples so it looks older.
Heaps of stones laid out in rows removed from collapsed parts of the temple.
A side on view of the approach to the Baphuon Temple.
Looking directly at the Baphuon Temple.
A view up the steps.
And once inside the temple, there are more stairs to climb.
A view bak down to the approach to the temple.
Some of th encroaching jungle.
One of the entrances to the Ta Prohm Temple.
Some of the junle has been cut back but there are still many large trees growing in the grounds.
Views of the temple...
...the bridge across the moat...
...some of the inner wall with the debris of the roof and outer wall in the foreground...
...some of it was still standing, but there are trees growing everywhere...
...but restoration work in being undertaken...
One of the restored facades...
...a tree that has grown out of the stonework...
...a tower...
...and some film buffs may recognise the temple as parts of it have been used in the Indiana Jones and Lara Croft; Tomb Raider films.
Another tree engulfing the temple...
...and there are plenty more trees encroaching on the stonework.
No comments:
Post a Comment