CAMBODIA

ANGKOR WAT: "The City, Which Has a Temple"

Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection of composition, balance, proportions, relief's and sculpture makes it one of the finest monuments in the world.

It is generally accepted that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west conforming to symbolism between the setting sun and death. The bas- reliefs, designed for viewing from left to right in the order of Hindu funeral ritual, support this function.

ANGKOR THOM

Angkor Thom is undeniably an expression of the highest genius. It is, in three dimensions and on a scale worthy of an entire nation, the materialization of Buddhist cosmology, representing ideas that only great painters would dare to portray.

Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, was a fortified city enclosing residences of priests, officials of the palace and military, as well as buildings for administering the kingdom. These structures were built of wood and have perished but the remaining stone monuments testify that Angkor Thom was indeed a 'Great City', as its name implies. Temples inside the walls of the city described are Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Preah Palilay, Tep Pranam and Prasat Suor Prat.

The Royal Palace situated within the city of Angkor Thom is of an earlier date and belonged to kings of the tenth and first half of the eleventh centuries. Although the foundations and an enclosing wall around the palace with entry towers have been identified, little evidence remains of the layout of the royal building inside the enclosure. This absence of archaeological evidence of the royal buildings suggests that they were constructed of wood and have perished. The French ascertained a general plan of the Royal Palace. It included the temple-mountain of Phimeanakas and surrounding pools together with residences and buildings for administering the capital, which were probably at the back of the enclosure. Jayavarman VII reconstructed the original site of the Royal Palace to erect the city of Angkor Thom, which was centered on the temple of Bayon and surrounded by a wall.

Zhou Daguan, the Chinese emissary who provided the only first-hand account of the Khmer people, described the splendor of Angkor Thom:

At the center of the Kingdom rises a Golden Tower [Bayon] flanked by more than twenty lesser towers and several hundred stone chambers. On the eastern side, two lions of gold guard a golden bridge, one on each side, with eight golden Buddhas spaced along the stone chambers. North of the Golden Tower is the Bronze Tower [Baphuon], higher even than the Golden Tower: a truly astonishing spectacle, with more than ten chambers at its base. A quarter of a mile further north is the residence of the King. Rising above his private apartments is another tower of gold. These are the monuments which have caused merchants from overseas to speak so often of 'Cambodia the rich and noble'.

Symbolically, Angkor Thom is a microcosm of the universe, divided into four parts by the main axes. The temple of the Bayon is situated at the exact center of the axes and stands as the symbolical link between heaven and earth. The wall enclosing the city of Angkor Thom represents the stone-made wall around the universe and the mountain ranges around Meru. The surrounding moat (now dry) symbolizes the cosmic ocean.

BANTEAY SREI: "The Citadel of The Women"

Banteay Srei, "the citadel of women", is an exquisite miniature; a fairy palace in the heart of an immense and mysterious forest; the very thing that Grimm delighted to imagine, and that every child's heart has yearned after, but which mature years have sadly proved too lovely to be true. And here it is, in the Cambodian forest at Banteay Srei, carved not out of the stuff that dreams are made of, but of solid sandstone.

KAMPONG KDEI BRIDGE

The Kampong Kdei Bridge is located in Doeumpor Village, Kok Thlok Kraom Commune, Chi Krèng District, Siem Reap Province. It is 254 km away from the Phnom Penh Capital along the National Road No 6 and 60 km southeast of the Siem Reap Town.

The bridge was erected by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. At that time, it was located in the stretch of the road between the Angkorean City and Phan Rang past Sambo Prei Kuh, Wat Nokor, Ba Phnom and Indra Borei.

During his reign, along the road in every 15 km, there was an electric lamp-installed rest-house that enabled travelers to stop for a while or to stay overnight before they continued their trips.

Nowadays, between the Siem Reap Town and the Kampong Thom provincial boundary we see only ten ancient bridges, but the Kampong Kdei Bridge is the longest one that is 80m long and 14m wide and has twenty-one axes.

To conserve the valuable cultural bridge, Mr. Bernard Philippe Groslier, the French Angkor curator, restored it in 1965.

The Kampong Kdei Bridge is now firmly standing, and it is still being used as a main infrastructure for facilitating both travel and heavy loaded trucks.

KOH Kér

Built by King Jayavarman IV in the 10th century, Koh Kér was the third ancient capital of Khmer Empire. It may have been the capital for just 15 years. King Jayavarman IV was determined to legitimize his rule through an extensive building program, and left behind 30 major temples and some gargantuan sculpture seen today in Phnom Penh. Koh Kér is located 80 km north of the Kulen Mount.

PHNOM UDONG

Phnom Udong is also called Phnom Preah Reach Trap, Phnom Athareus and Phnom Preah Chetreus. It is a mountain rich in cultural patrimonies. For tourists, Udong is not only a fantastic cultural site but also a charming natural one.

PREAH VIHEAR TEMPLE (The Soul of Khmer People)

It is located slightly east of the midsection of the Dangrek Mountains. It is perched on the edge of a giant cliff, 625 meters above sea level in northern part of Preah Vihear Province, Kingdom of Cambodia. Lying out on an 800-meter north-south axis, the Preah Vihear complex has a single imposing approach, leading up through a series of five towered entrance pavilions connected by causeways and steps that rise about 120 meters. Stunningly sitting at the top of Preah Vihear Temple, the main sanctuary is surrounded by libraries and other structures.

ROYAL PALACE

Firstly the Royal Palace was erected in the reign of King Ponhea Yat (1434), and secondly it was erected in the reign of King Norodom (1866). The Royal Palace was formerly called "Preah Barom Reach Veang Chatomuk Mongkul" that meant it was conveniently located at the confluence of four rivers (the Upper Mékong, the Lower Mékong, the Tonlé Bassak and the Tonlé Sap). Nowadays it is only called "Preah Barom Reach Veang".

The Royal Palace is 402 meters by 435 meters, and its complex is surrounded by a high pagoda-styled compound decorated with the boundary strings.

The Royal Palace is a royal residence now where His Majesty, the King of Cambodia, and the royal families live. In a common word, it is like a small town of royal dynasties.

The Royal Palace is regarded as the symbol of the whole nation, and all the pavilions are adorned and painted with yellow and white colors. The yellow represents Buddhism and the white represents Brahmanism.

SAMBO PREI KUH

It is one of the Khmer civilization and historical sites. It is close to Stoeng Sèn (Sèn Stream), 35 km northeast of Kampong Thom Town. There are more than a hundred temples built in the 7th century by King Isanvarman I. It was a former Khmer Capital City.

WAT PHNOM

The capital of Cambodia was named after Penh - a woman who founded a sanctuary on the hill in 1372 where the grand stupa still stands today. Tourists are much attached to the Wat Phnom because it is a leisure and sentimental place.

It is situated on the top of Phnom Daun Penh. It is considered a secret monastery. The Vihara (sanctuary) was rebuilt in 1434, 1806, 1894, and 1926. West of the Vihara is an enormous stupa containing the ashes of King Ponhea Yat reigning from 1405 to 1467.

[top]