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June 13, 2005

The Temples of Angkor

After a bit of "R & R" in Phnom Penh we headed north to the site the country is famous for. Surrounding the town of Siem Reap are the amazing temples of Angkor - all that is left of the former capital city of the ancient Khmer Empire. At its peak it covered most of Southeast Asia.

The temples were all built between about 900 and 1500 AD, but what is amazing about them isn't simply their age or size or the incredible quantity of them - they stand apart for their stunning beauty. These temples, all essentially modeled on the same theme of a spiritual Mountain, are each so unique in their detail. There are endless carvings and bass-reliefs depicting everything about life in the empire from the epic struggles and triumphs of wars to the everyday business of eating and grooming; everything has its place on these walls.

The temples form the skeleton of the Ancient city that was once here. Built out of sandstone, they are all that remains from the rest of the city. After the declining empire moved its capital south Angkor was all but forgotten and the jungle moved in to reclaim the city. When the french rediscovered it in the 19th century it was all but swallowed up by nature. Today the temples have udergone extensive renovations and tourism has made them a virtual disneyland, with wide paved roads leading the way to most sites, but a few have been left to the jungle and it is a profoundly interesting site to see some of these trees literally growing on top of these ancient strucutres.

The temples remain at their core religious centers (Most were built as Hindu temples and then later Buddist) and as such there is no shortage of religious imagry as well: The stories of the Gods, shrines and smiling Buddahs. In fact they remain today a major pilgramage site for followers of these faiths. Don't worry though, they'll let anyone offer some incense at the altar so long as a small donation is made!

We decied to spend the better part of three days immersing ourselves in the area at our own pace. The first day we hired a driver to show us around - and although we saw and learned much the heat and the pace were to hard to keep up. So we slowed down a bit on the other two days - lingering in the temples longer. Lisa wrote while I tried to sketch some of the amazing features we found. We spent the rest of the second day at the main temple in Angkor: Angkor Wat.

The second day we visited some of the temples that have been left to the jungle. We were lucky enough to come upon a little old man sitting among the temples selling little trinkets. Lo and behold, he was the man from the cover of our Lonley Planet!! For a few thousand riel (their currency) we got him to sign our book and took a picture of him with Lisa!

On our final day we visited a more remote temple hewn from a pinkish sandstone. Often referred to as "the Temple of the Women" because of its intricate detail. It was a peaceful farewell to this amazing place.

Posted by Jim & Lisa on June 13, 2005 06:18 AM
Category: Cambodia
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