With the death of King Suryavarman II in 1150 A.D., construction on the temple stopped. 27 years later, Angkor Wat was sacked by the Cham (from modern Vietnam). The capitol was relocated by King Jayavarman VII to Angkor Thom, which we visited earlier.
The bridge seems to continue on....
... and on. Greeting the weary worshipper (or tourist, in my case) is a gopuram, or Entrance Tower. These are part of the Hindu Temple tradition; there are multiple gopurams at Angkor Wat.
More Naga guardians:
View of another gopuram and the connecting gallery:
Even though an amazing and ancient structure, Angkor Wat was not immune from the modern world: bullet holes from the 1974-1975 Cambodian/Vietnam War:
Within one gopuram lies the Ta Reach, originally a statue of Vishnu:
Behind the gopuram lies 203 acres/82 hectares of enclosed space. This would have been where those associated with the temple may have lived and performed tasks. Those buildings were built of perishable materials, and so nothing remains.
To the North and South of this inner area are the remains of libraries:
Wondering how far the stones had to be moved to the temple site TB. Twentieth century man's legacy......bullet holes.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, that I recall the stone came from Mt. Kulen, 25-35 miles from the location (he says, not having to had move anything like that...).
DeleteBullet holes really feel like at least a major legacy of the 20th Century.
The tops of the towers are quite fascinating. They give the place a very distinctive look. It almost looks like the might contain balconies, but it's hard to tell from the photos. Or are they solid rock?
ReplyDeleteLeigh, apparently the tower style is so distinctive that it is called the Angkor Wat style!
DeleteThey seem to be more galleries than balconies - but we will be going up into them soon!