Siem Reap - ANGKOR

I must first apologize for my absence this past month; a result of lacking internet access in Cambodia and all that accompanies returning to Canada after 6 months. Family time came first, then there was some much needed friend time in Victoria, all the while moving into the suite with Wes and returning to landscaping. There’s never enough time in a day… especially when my biggest post is in the works. After all, the best deserves the most. Stretching over some 400 square kms, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of several capitals of the Khmer Empire. The temples are highly symbolic structures, built as representations of the mythical Mount Meru, explaining why so many are surrounded by moats, built in a mountain-like pyramidal shape and topped by precisely five towers. There was also a political element to it all: most kings wanted to build their own state temples to symbolize their kingdom and power. Suryavarman II unexpectedly died while constructing the temple, leaving some of the sculpture decoration unfinished. Around thirty years after his death, Angkor was sacked by enemies of the Khmer and restored thereafter by a new king, Jayavarman VII. While these early structures were built under Hindu influence, he converted to Buddhism and embarked on a prodigious building spree, constructing the new capital city of Angkor Thom, the largest pre-industrial city in the world. His successor returned to Hinduism and embarked on an equally massive spree of destruction, systematically defacing Buddhist images and even crudely altering some to be Hindu again. Eventually overtaken by Buddhism for good, Angkor Wat is the only temple to have remained a significant religious center. It is also the best preserved of all the temples at the site, becoming a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag. It’s admired for the grandeur and harmony of the sculptures, decoration and most of all, architecture. Conservationists claim it attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It truly is a work of power, unity and style. The outer wall is over 1000m long, 800m wide and almost 5m high enclosing the 200-acre city.

Once across the 350m long sandstone causeway and through the literal ‘elephant gates’, libraries and ponds line the sides of the equally as long causeway to the temple itself. Angkor Wat stands on a terrace raised higher than the city grounds. It is made of 3 rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. The lower gallery has pavilions at each corner and is open to the outside of the temple with columned hallways. 

Its connection to the next gallery is a cruciform cloister called the “Hall of a Thousand Gods”. Buddha images were left by pilgrims over the centuries, as well as inscriptions relating to their good deeds carved in Khmer, Burmese and Japanese. 

Within the three cruciform-shaped halls are four small courtyards that were originally filled with water.

To the left and right of the cruciform cloister are beautiful libraries.

At the points of each cruciform are the entrances to the second gallery, with towers in each of its four corner. These form with the central tower to create the five striking features protruding 700ft into the sky.

 The area between the second gallery’s enclosed hallways and the central tower was originally flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru. The steep stairs to reach this raised central shrine represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods.
 

The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. The pit beneath was excavated only to discover sand and water in place of its treasures. However, a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf was found 2m above ground level. Surrounding this innermost gallery are hallway ceilings decorated with the motif of a snake’s body with a lion’s head. But virtually every surface on each level has miles of extraordinary detailed carvings depicting numerous battle scenes and mythological decorations. It’s all so alluring, but the artistic legacy of the monument cannot be fully appreciated until one is peering from the terraces off these hallways over the magnificent structure and its surrounding grounds.

 It’s unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected at one point it was never completely abandoned. Its preservation is due in part to the fact that its moat provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle, at a mind-boggling 8 km by 2.3 km in size. However, Angkor Wat still required considerable restoration, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. This work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 70s and 80s, with many other structures left to the jungles. This makes them even more fascinating, adding an eerie rustic appeal. These jungles inhabitants include the Bayon, Baphuon, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan and Banteay Kdei among others inside and around the walls of Angkor Thom. Encompassing 9km², elephants were the common form of transportation around this city and are still available for tourists. However, Wes and I had hired a tuk-tuk driver to accommodate our 5am pick-up to see the Angkor sunrise. He then gained our entrance through the south gate to the city, stopping at the second most recognized temple in Angkor, the Bayon. 

Its multitude of giant stone faces adorn all 54 towers, and with four faces on each tower, 216 faces stare back at you as you wander around the top level of this three-tiered temple. 

As you take in the baffling uniqueness, you also notice its imperfections. The Khmer architects commonly used a corbelled arch that often proved unstable and collapsed, unlike the Romans curved arches. As a result, many of the distinct features on Angkor Thom temples have crumbled to ruins. Fortunately, reconstructive work has allowed visitors to reach the topmost tier of the Baphuon, one of the largest and grandest structures in the ancient city. 

The Tower of Bronze has more than ten chambers at is base with a long causeway between two ponds to get there.  

 Not so fortunate with receiving restorations is the Royal Palace, across from which you can walk along a 500m long platform. This intricately carved walkway is split into two, the first and most extensive called the Elephant Terrace and the second the Terrace of the Leper King.

King Jayavarman VII used them as platforms from which to view his victorious returning army. Exiting through the north gate of the city, you hit Preah Khan overrun with strangler figs crawling up the walls and spread with excellent carvings. Left just as it was when rediscovered, in no way did we regret getting lost in its labyrinth of ruins. It was the first capital before Angkor Wat was completed, crushed by the weight of history.

Through the east gate of the city is Ta Prohm where trees have been left intertwined with the stonework, probing at its cracks and crawling around its corners. Large sections of the temple are unstable rubble and have been blocked off in real danger of collapse. For these reasons some may consider it in a state of disrepair, but I think it’s a stunning display of the embrace between nature and human handiwork. Some may also recognize a few scenes from Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider! 

 The enormous amounts of sandstone used to create these monuments is overwhelming, and the skills required to carve the sculptures were developed hundreds of years before the Khmer even came to power. Tourism is providing enormous funds for conservation efforts to protect these breathtaking sites, and more people are realizing that the Angkor temple complex deserves a spot in the Seven Wonders of the World.