Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

A lifelong desire to see Angkor Wat is what drove me to come to Cambodia this year. Yesterday, we visited two lesser temples, Bayon, and Ta Phrom (famous because of the movie “Tame Raiders”). But neither of these prepared me for the reality of Angkor Wat. It is 1 mile across in each direction, and took 20,000 people 37 years to construct. It was built in 1113 AD (also known as 1113 CE).

It is surrounded by a moat (which stabilizes the sandy soil) and a wall that is pierced by 4 gates, one on the west, one on the east, one on the south, and one on the north. But when you enter through the gate (we entered through the west gate ) you are faced with a large open space – not the huge temple you expected. Rather, there are two libraries,

And a large open space, intersected with paths, that lead to the temple itself. Current archeological investigation has determined that this open space was actually take up with a city – many houses, mostly of fairly wealthy or influential people, but also of the priests and their supporting staff.

But your eye is always drawn to the temple itself:

And its towers. You climb up to the first level and discover a gallery which is home to spectacular carvings.

that cover every piece of sandstone. The temple is constructed to a volcanic rock cut in blocks and faced with sandstone, which is meticulously carved. Some carvings show what happens when you sin, others what happens when you don’t. (The penalties for sinning don’t bear thinking about).

Climbing many steep stairs (no handrails) brings you to the second level, where you begin to see the temple details:

And the steps that worshipers used to get to the top level:

Which are closed now to tourists – it is said that they were negotiated by climbing on hands and knees – both upwards and backwards! We decided NOT to climb to the 3rd level – the steps are VERY steep and the wait to climb them is about an hour and a half.

But we greatly enjoyed investigating this level of the temple

And pointing our cameras upwards to take in the details.

Then we climbed back down two wooden (modern staircases) and enjoyed one last look at Angkor Wat

M

Ma

Mary

Posted in Siem Reap, Cambodia 1/20/18