Land of temples

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Having left Bangkok we had a long day's journey to Siem Reap in Cambodia. The reason to come here is to see the many temples near the city built between the 9th and the 13th centuries with the most famous one being the temple of Angkor Wat. The whole area is a UNESCO world heritage site and the reason most people visit Cambodia. The 9th century was a time of relative peace and prosperity for the kingdom of Khmer a time when great temples were built and a new capital city was born.

The temples are spread over quite a large area and come in various styles depending on when they were built. The temples were built to glorify Hindu Gods as this was the main religion in these times. They were later converted to Buddhist temples when the king converted to Buddhism. Angkor Wat with its five characterisitc "prasats" or towers is the most iconic of the temples. Created by thousands of workers and at one time employing three thousand sculptors, it is still breathtaking in its scope and entrancing in the detail and beauty of its carvings. We fell in love with the many thousands of Apsara dancers carved on its walls. Apsaras are "celestial maidens" created out of foam and air when the Gods whipped up the sea of life. They always brought a smile to our faces. Although large numbers of people visit every day it is still possible to find every now and then a little corner of the temple to yourself where you can marvel at the carvings. Nothing remains of the surrounding city, just large temples in the forest a clue to a very rich civilisation.

The nearby Bayon temple complex is famous for its huge carved faces on towers within the temple. Each face is slightly different and they reminded me photographs I have seen of the impassive faces of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) staring out without change over the centuries. Although those faces are in quite good condition many of the statues were removed by looters or have become worn by the weather over time. Some of the temples have been the subject of sensitive restoration most notably by the Japanese and some really apalling restoration by the Chinese. Whereas the Japanese seem to have taken extraordinary measures to preserve and protect the Chinese restoration we saw appeared to have been done by reconstructing with modern concrete - we were appalled.

One of the temples in the forest has been left unrestored and the main one which everyone photographs is Ta Prohm. Huge fig and silk-cotton trees grow on top of walls and their roots spill down as if they have been poured and then solidified. The variety and size of these temple complexes is difficult to describe. The Khmer culture was one of huge richness and the remains of this culture as seen at Angkor Wat rivals any we have seen so far.

(P)

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