Angkor Temples

Very high up on our bucket list for a long time has been a visit the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. We’ve seen lots of photos of majestic stone ruins that rise from the tropical jungle; lots of notes about Angkor Wat’s being the “world’s largest religious structure, covering some 400 acres [160 hectares] …” ※ ; lots of notes about Angkor Wat’s being just one temple among at least 72 other major temples spread over about 155 square miles / 400 square kilometers; references to the powerful Khmer empire. And, of course, Lara Croft and the tombs she raided.

The name Angkor is derived from nokor (នគរ), a Khmer word meaning “kingdom” which in turn derived from Sanskrit nagara (नगर), meaning “city”. The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a “universal monarch” and “god-king”, and lasted until the late 14th century…. A Khmer rebellion against Siamese authority resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya… (source)

What’s it really like?

Well, it’s quite amazing. 

First, the vastness. 

How big is Angkor’s 150 square miles / 400 square kilometers? Metro Philadelphia covers about that area. That’s about the same size as Valencia, Spain.

On this map, Angkor Wat is Number 1; that’s the 400-acre part. We also visited Numbers 4, 5, 6, 11, and 19 over two days.

Angkor Wat

For an experience of scale, we’ll start with Angkor Wat itself, which is only 1/260 of the entire Angkor region. As you already know, Angkor is this overall place, the “capital city” or “kingdom.” Wat means “temple.” So, Capital City Temple.

Angkor Wat, temple complex at Angkor, near Siem Reap, Cambodia, that was built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–c. 1150) of the Khmer empire. (source)

Here’s an aerial view of Angkor Wat (not taken by us!). Note the huge square-shaped moat around the complex. Its purposes were not defensive; instead the moat was part an immense system of water management for the entire region. The vast complex of canals and waterways served agricultural needs, flood management, as well as keeping the foundations of the temples from sinking and buckling. Additionally, in Hinduism, the water represents the ocean which is the source of life and immortality.

The moat through the trees:

Across this bridge on the west side of the complex.

And entered through the impressive temple-complex “wall” which is really a huge linear building. It’s about 2.4 mi / 3.8 km long.

Then across the vast surrounding field. Today, a few stone building ruins remain. During the years of the Khmer Empire — from the 9th to the 15th century — an entire city filled this space: residences, palaces, commerce, libraries, temples.

We’re getting closer.

We approach the actual temple by passing through three galleries, each separated by a paved walkway. ※

All of the original religious motifs derived from Hinduism, and the temple was dedicated to the god Vishnu. The five central towers of Angkor Wat symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru, which according to Hindu mythology is the dwelling place of the gods. The mountain is said to be surrounded by an ocean, and the complex’s enormous moat suggests the oceans at the edge of the world… (source)

Beautiful carvings cover most of the stone surfaces. Many depict apsaras which are divine nymphs in Hinduism.

Hindu mythology is jam-packed with stories of how a woman’s beauty changes the course of time and turns the outcome into another direction altogether. These divine nymphs are known as ‘apsaras’ in the Hindu texts. They are performers in the court of the Dev King Indra and there are numerous stories where the Devs and the Gods have, with the help of these women and their beauty, turned critical situations into their own favour. (source)

Angkor was originally a Hindu place. But today, about 80% of the Cambodian people are Buddhist. In fact, at the very center of Angkor Wat, beneath the central tower, we find Buddhist shrines.

During our time in Cambodia, we regularly saw orange-robed Buddhist monks, including visiting Angkor Wat.

Monks play a significant role in Cambodian society, performing ceremonies for births, deaths, and weddings. Moreover, they provide emotional and social support, much like clergy in other religions. Each morning, monks venture out from the temple to collect alms from the community. In return, they offer blessings to those who give. (source)

You’ll notice that this group of monks is very young! Young boys may become monks for a range of reasons. Some may choose this path for the education opportunities, or some may choose because of difficult situations like the loss of parents. Once a monk, not always a monk; each monk may choose to return to secular life if he wants.

So: Hindu long ago; Buddhist now. Why and when did this change happen?

This heritage goes back at least to the 12th century. Before that time, Angkor Wat was a Hindu temple. But in 1177, the Cham people from what is now Vietnam sacked Angkor. King Jayavarman VII decided that the Hindu gods had failed him, so he turned the kingdom toward Buddhism.

At the end of our first visit to the temple, we left by the east gate, opposite from the crowded western entrance. Much calmer over here, and the surrounding jungle embraces the stone structures.

While Cambodians have known about Angkor for centuries, that wasn’t true for people from the West. In the mid 19th century, French naturalist and explorer Henri Mouhot came upon Angkor, and he shared his findings with folks back home. Imagine his first glimpse of the towers of Angkor Wat through the surrounding jungle — a bit like this:

We came back before dawn to witness the sunrise over the temple (along with quite a few fellow travelers).

By the way, these monuments don’t just clean themselves, you know:

A few more stops during our visit to Angkor:

Angkor Thom and the Bayon Temple

As you can see from the Angkor map, the district of Angkor Thom is much larger than that of Angkor Wat. King Jayavarman VII built Angkor Thom as the new capital city after recovering from the Cham victory in 1177 and converting the kingdom to Buddhism. It’s overall area of about 3.5 square miles / 9 square kilometers, or over 5.5 times the area of Angkor Wat. Angkor Thom means “Great City.”

A grand gate marks each cardinal entry point of Angkor Thom. A parade of stone figures lines each side of the approach to the south gate. These sculptures represent a Hindu myth of creation.

On one side of the causeway, fifty-four guardian deities (called “devas”) pull the head of a mythical serpent or “naga.” On the other side, fifty-four images of demon gods (called “asuras”) push the tail of the serpent. The whipping motion of the serpent’s body was said to churn the ocean and recreate the cosmos anew. The dancing female deities (each known as an “apsaras”) were the first beings to emerge from the sea of creation. (source)

At the center is the Bayon Temple, famous for the 216 huge serene stone faces.

It is possible that King Jayavarman commanded that these be his own faces. Or faces of the Buddha. Or faces of Brahma. Or perhaps all three at once. King Jayavarman saw himself as a devaraja, or god-king, in the Hindu tradition, while also having converted to Buddhism.

Whatever the case may be, these smiling introspective faces keep you company while you visit the Bayon Temple….

…unless you have good cell coverage.

‎⁨Banteay Srei⁩⁩

In comparison to the muscular grey standstone forms of Angkor Wat, the temple of Banteay Srei is an intricate red-sandstone jewel. It pre-dates and pre-figures Angkor Wat.

The temple of Banteay Srei is believed to be built somewhere during the mid-10th century, according to the discovered inscriptions. After the temple was fully constructed, it was officially and religiously inaugurated…. The Banteay Srei temple is one of the few temples that was not built by kings. Instead, it was built by a great master who taught King Rajendravarman and King Jayavarman V.

Based on the inscriptions, the temple’s compound was made only for the priests, which were one of the four castes the society had at that time. The Angkorian empire and India shared a common caste system in which each cast lived their own respective lifestyle among their own groups. (source)

We can’t find out why the builders of Banteay Srei chose red sandstone rather than gray, but there’s one benefit for us visitors. Red sandstone is softer than the gray variety; it is easier to carve. Which yields the luscious intricacy of the carvings that cover every surface. 

Sculpted figures with human bodies and animal heads guard the temples.

Our fabulous tour guide for our time in Cambodia, Fila, called our attention to one particular sculpted tableau.

He said he particularly liked the story it illustrates. He even showed us one of his tattoos inspired by this story, which goes like this:

Look at the central figures: demon face up, human face down. Be careful, don’t assume which is good and which is bad. A fellow named Hiranyakashyap meditated for 1000 years. As a reward, Brahma granted his request to live forever, although with some conditions. He could not be killed inside and outside his house, in the day and in the night, by an animal and a living thing, nor by a weapon. Hiranyakashyap interpreted this situation as equivalent to immortality as well as to the absence of any accountability. He bullied, rampaged, and physically grew to be a giant monster. The people who suffered under his cruelty entreated Vishnu to save them from Hiranyakashyap. Clever Vishnu incarnated as an unreal animal with top half of a lion and bottom half human. He grabbed the monster on threshold of the house at sunset; with his bare hands, he pulled the monster’s chest apart into two pieces, one in the house, and one outside. That was the end of the egotistical monster. In the sculpture, the “demon” head is the lion-head of Vishnu; the “human” head is that of the monster Hiranyakashyap. This is a red-sandstone version of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” But more elegant.

‎⁨Ta Prohm⁩ – Lara Croft’s favorite temples

After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, the temple of Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries. When the effort to conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began in the early 20th century, the École française d’Extrême-Orient decided that Ta Prohm would be left largely as it had been found, as a “concession to the general taste for the picturesque.” According to pioneering Angkor scholar Maurice Glaize, Ta Prohm was singled out because it was “one of the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it”. Nevertheless, much work has been done to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and to maintain “this condition of apparent neglect.” (source)

In 1992, UNESCO designated Ta Prohm as World Heritage site. Restoration work is currently underway by a partnership of Cambodian and Indian archeologists. Nonetheless, banyan and other trees still grab buildings like invading aliens.

Fallen stone blocks refuse your entry.

This combination of crumbling ruin, partial restoration, and swallowing by the jungle offers such a meditation on time and impermanence — and simply beauty.

No sweat! (Not really)

We visited in January and the weather was hot, hot, hot. Like 95 deg F / 35 deg C, humid and sunny. We toured in the mornings. Even then, we dashed from shady place to shady place. Light clothing, hats and sunscreen were essential. 

David had bought a blue T-shirt before the trip with a kind of shadowy camo pattern; he thought it would be a forgiving pattern coming out of the suitcase. Instead, it looked like he was sweating from the moment he put it on. And then, amongst the temples, he really was sweating. Some of our fellow travelers were really amused by his look.

January 2024