Friday, Nov. 14 -- Cambodia has 5,000 temples; we visited five. I haven't seen "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider," but if you have, that's what we're seeing. Part of the movie was filmed at Ta Prohm, the so-called jungle temple, which has been allowed to revert to its natural state. That means it has been taken over by tree roots as big as trunks that twist and encircle the ruins, breaking them apart in places. It was built by a ruler whose name I can't remember to honor his mother. Nell, Pat and Connor . . . Christmas is coming.
Ban Teay Kdey was next, a temple originally built to honor Buddha, but then taken over by followers of Hindu. On to Prasat Krawan — translation: Tower of Cardamon, a small temple built in 921 by Hindus and dedicated to Vishnu. Surrounded by a moat and five towers. We then went to Angkor Tom, which means big town, a royal city once inhabited by 1 million people. It included many temples; Bayon probably was my favorite. Well-preserved, it features elaborate bas reliefs that depict battles, daily scenes such as fishing, cock fighting and a woman giving birth, and many animals, including water buffalo, alligators, horses, elephants and monkeys. Three groups were at war at the time — the Chinese, depicted with slanted eyes, a beard and topknot, Khmer (the Cambodians), represented with long ears and big lips, and Cham, who had an upside down lotus on their heads. The temple has 54 towers, each with four huge faces about six feet high. The towers themselves are as tall as tall buildings. The gates are guarded by serpents.
The granddaddy of them all, of course, is Angkor Wat, the biggest temple in the world. Bigger than the Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu, Versailles. It is the best preserved and was rediscovered in the mid-1800s. It's a Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu. More bas reliefs, as long as a football field, depicting battles, heaven and hell, and thousands of apsara, the famous topless dancing girls wearing elaborate headdresses. The guys probably don't notice the headdresses. Scaffolding has been erected around some of the towers, which are being reconstructed, courtesy of the Japanese and German governments. We started our visit at 5 am, hoping to catch the sunrise. It was a little too cloudy, but there were fewer tourists (maybe a few thousand as opposed to tens of thousands) and it was cooler.
I'm pretty mixed up on Buddhism v. Hinduism, Buddha v. Vishnu, mythology v. religion. Literally everything carved on walls is symbolic of something; figures have many arms, serpents protect the gods, particular numbers are important. And literally every inch is covered with carving. The temples are vast, surrounded by moats and walls, and cover acre after acre. Water buffalo roam, brahma cows graze, monkeys skitter across the tops of the towers. Lily pads cover the moats. Most temples were built before the 12th century and are in serious disrepair, due to time, weather, battles and theft of artifacts. However, the Cambodian government as well as others governments are funding some reconstruction. Scholars, of course, study them for years, so a two-day visit just skims the surface. It's a little like visiting the Metropolitan Museum in NY in four hours. Neither words nor pictures can capture the grandeur of the temples. Suffice to say they are nothing short of awesome.
Ban Teay Kdey was next, a temple originally built to honor Buddha, but then taken over by followers of Hindu. On to Prasat Krawan — translation: Tower of Cardamon, a small temple built in 921 by Hindus and dedicated to Vishnu. Surrounded by a moat and five towers. We then went to Angkor Tom, which means big town, a royal city once inhabited by 1 million people. It included many temples; Bayon probably was my favorite. Well-preserved, it features elaborate bas reliefs that depict battles, daily scenes such as fishing, cock fighting and a woman giving birth, and many animals, including water buffalo, alligators, horses, elephants and monkeys. Three groups were at war at the time — the Chinese, depicted with slanted eyes, a beard and topknot, Khmer (the Cambodians), represented with long ears and big lips, and Cham, who had an upside down lotus on their heads. The temple has 54 towers, each with four huge faces about six feet high. The towers themselves are as tall as tall buildings. The gates are guarded by serpents.
The granddaddy of them all, of course, is Angkor Wat, the biggest temple in the world. Bigger than the Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu, Versailles. It is the best preserved and was rediscovered in the mid-1800s. It's a Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu. More bas reliefs, as long as a football field, depicting battles, heaven and hell, and thousands of apsara, the famous topless dancing girls wearing elaborate headdresses. The guys probably don't notice the headdresses. Scaffolding has been erected around some of the towers, which are being reconstructed, courtesy of the Japanese and German governments. We started our visit at 5 am, hoping to catch the sunrise. It was a little too cloudy, but there were fewer tourists (maybe a few thousand as opposed to tens of thousands) and it was cooler.
I'm pretty mixed up on Buddhism v. Hinduism, Buddha v. Vishnu, mythology v. religion. Literally everything carved on walls is symbolic of something; figures have many arms, serpents protect the gods, particular numbers are important. And literally every inch is covered with carving. The temples are vast, surrounded by moats and walls, and cover acre after acre. Water buffalo roam, brahma cows graze, monkeys skitter across the tops of the towers. Lily pads cover the moats. Most temples were built before the 12th century and are in serious disrepair, due to time, weather, battles and theft of artifacts. However, the Cambodian government as well as others governments are funding some reconstruction. Scholars, of course, study them for years, so a two-day visit just skims the surface. It's a little like visiting the Metropolitan Museum in NY in four hours. Neither words nor pictures can capture the grandeur of the temples. Suffice to say they are nothing short of awesome.
5 comments:
Your descriptions are great. Do you take notes as you tour. You may nver be able to straighten out Hindu, Budda, etc, but what a visual feast. I am sure it is hard to take it all in.
Keep you notes coming, I am realy enjoying them.
Miss you.
It's as though you are on The Amazing Race without time challenges & hurdles. Thank you for those vivid images through your diary.
It all sounds amazing. I wish I was there! How's the food in Cambodia?
It's all very well and good to expand your world view, take in some of the wonders of the world, savor exotic delicacies, survive a hurricane, learn about gods and 1,000-year-old temples, improve international relations and better understand our Asian neighbors. But hey, what about Trials Digest?
Diane
Your temple is in the works.
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