Page 36 - HISTORY ANGKOR

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ppearing like a fever dream amid
a thick, humid jungle is Angkor
1 ANGKOR WAT
Wat—a soaring, sumptuous city
2 PHNOM BAKHENG TEMPLE
of stone with elegant spires and
3 WEST BARAY (RESERVOIR)
Aelevated towers, covered galleries
4 ANGKOR THOM TEMPLE COMPLEX
and airy courtyards, ornate walkways and intri-
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5 BAYON TEMPLE 2
cate bas-relief carvings. Situated on the shores
of Tonle Sap, a lake in northwest Cambodia, 6 BAPHUON TEMPLE
this temple complex is a nearly 900-year-old 7 PHIMEANAKAS TEMPLE COMPLEX
ruin from the ancient Khmer Empire. Among 8 TERRACE OF THE ELEPHANTS
the hundreds of surviving temples in the re- 9 TERRACE OF THE LEPER KING
gion, the vast complex is easily Cambodia’s 10 VICTORY GATE
most famous sacred site—it appears on the 11 PREAH KHAN TEMPLE
nation’s current flag—and is revered for good

reason. Comprising over a thousand buildings
and covering some 400 acres, it is the world’s
largest religious structure—and one of human-
ity’s cultural wonders.
Construction of Angkor Wat began in the
first half of the 12th century by the Khmer king

Suryavarman II (reigned a.d. 1113-circa 1150).
It was probably intended to serve as his vast
funerary temple where his remains would rest
for eternity. Heavily influenced by Hinduism,
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the site, whose name means “city of temples”
in Khmer, was originally called Vrah Visnuloka
(“sacred dwelling of Vishnu”) and dedicated to
three Hindu deities: the namesake Vishnu, Shi-
va, and Brahma. Hindu deities are recognizable

among the complex’s many bas-relief carvings.
The structure’s most prominent architectural
feature is its central quincunx—five conically
shaped towers (four in the corners, one in the
middle) built on graduated tiers. Rows of lotuses
taper to a point near the top, symbolizing the
peaks of Mount Meru, the dwelling place of the

gods and center of the universe. Indeed, Angkor
Wat was conceived as an earthly model of the ca 1116
cosmos—a miniature replica of the universe in
stone, with its central tower rising nearly 200 Khmer king Suryavarman II
begins construction of the
feet in the air. The outer wall corresponds to Angkor Wat (“city of temples”)
the mountains at the edge of the world; the sur- complex alongside Angkor, a
preexisting Khmer city.
rounding three-mile-long moat symbolizes the
oceans beyond them.

One accesses the site by crossing a 617-foot
bridge and then passing through three galleries
on the way to the temple itself. The inner walls 1177
are covered with bas-relief sculptures repre- CAPITALS
senting Hindu gods and ancient Khmer scenes, The neighboring Cham (in
present-day Vietnam) invade
as well as episodes from two Sanskrit epics: the AND and plunder Angkor Wat,
KINGS throughout the empire.
Mahabharata and the Ramayana. causing great instability

34 MARCH/APRIL 2022