We took a two day guided tour of some of the temples. One day was Angkor Wat, Ta Promh (aka “Tomb Raider temple”), and Angkor Thom. At the centre of the Angkor Thom complex is the Bayon “Faces” temple.
The other day we did the outer circuit of Pre Rup, Banteay Srei (aka “Ladies Temple”) and Preah Khan.
An early start for sunrise at Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat had a population of one million when London’s population was only 50,000. Angkor Thom is an even bigger site than Angkor Wat.
The stone for the temples was brought from quarries 70km and 200km away.
The temples are also a calendar. On the equinox in March and September, at midday the sun is directly over the central of the five towers at Angkor Wat.
The Angkor temples follow many of the same principles as the pyramids at Giza in Egypt and the Mayan pyramids in Central America. The concept of “as above, so below” or “heaven on earth” led the people to locate megalithic sites based on the stars or constellations. The main Giza pyramids map Orion’s belt and the Angkor temples map Drako. Incredibly the plan of both sites is based on the positions of the constellations around 10,500BC when they were at the furthest North and South of their precessional cycles respectively. Giza and Angkor are also 72 degrees, or a fifth of the earth’s circumference apart.
The “master plan” is overlaid by Hindu symbology. The temple mounds represent Mount Meru. The temples were surrounded by huge man-made moats and canals representing the oceans and rivers. Incredible amounts of soil were dug to create these mounds. The sites were built on a plain rather than starting with existing mountains or hills. The “master plan” location perhaps explains why.
At times the Hindu symbology was complemented by Buddhist symbols depending on the king at the time. Many of the Buddha carvings have been crudely chopped out when a subsequent king reverted to Hinduism.
Steep staircases of 45 and 60 degrees
Ta Promh still has has lots of trees growing through it. It was made famous by the Tomb Raider film with Angelina Jolie.
Angkor Thom is a huge site.
Pinning the tail on the elephant
Stone pillars
Bayon (the “Faces temple”) is at the very centre of the Angkor Thom complex.
Many enigmatic carved stone faces
Kissing faces
Banteay Srei has very intricate stone carvings – allegedly the finest in the world. It’s known as “Ladies temple” as they believe that only ladies could carve something so fine.
