A week in Cambodia -11/18/2023-11/24/2023

Siam Reap-11/23/2023

Day 6- Angkor Wat continuation

The Library in the courtyard.

The Sacred Pond.

At the lower level there is a large basin. It’s unknown how much water they would have held and what their original function/symbolism may have been.

Entering the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard with stairs going up to the Bakan.

Panoramic view of the Bakan which is the name of what used to be the principal sanctuary of Angkor Wat. It is the summit of Angkor Wat’s central temple, the highest of temple’s three galleries and the uppermost point of world’s largest religious complex.

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Corner Towers with area for people to rest.

The Bakan is the enormous 98 ft. high substructure that supports the amazing quincunx of towers. It rises with sloping sides featuring narrow stepped staircases at each corner and a central staircase on its western side.

The staircases are extremely steep at a 70 degrees incline (normal stairs are at 45 degrees). The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods.

An outer view of an entrance to the uppermost terrace.

Entering the Bakan.

A large basin on the uppermost terrace

Panoramic view of the courtyard and the large basin in the center.

The gallery walkway.

In the center of the courtyard is the Library.  Like all of the buildings at Angkor Wat, they were constructed from sandstone. It is estimated over five million blocks – some weighing 1.5 tons – were used to construct the entire temple. The stones were quarried from Mount Kulen over 25 miles away.

On the western side there is an amazing view of the temple’s lower levels, grounds, and even out further to other Phnom Bakeng and Phnom Kulen.

The Buddha statue here is one of the sacred places inside Angkor Wat, and locals come to pray here in front of the large Buddha statue for good luck or to ease their troubles.

We are now in the hall of a thousand Buddhas.

Statue of Buddha protected by a seven head Naga.  As you can see one of the head on the left is broken off.

Statue of headless Buddha.

Decorative sculpture on wall and another headless statue in the hallway.

Inside the hall of the Buddha

It is such a pity that most of the heads are long gone, may were knocked off and stolen by thieves (local and foreign) and sold on the international antique market.

As the most artistically valued part of the Buddha statues, these heads have been so widely collected over the decades that bodiless Buddha heads are now quite commonplace in Western museums and private collections.

A large standing Buddha with a yellow fabric wrapping his body at the end of the corridor.

Closer look the statue.

We just finished visiting the Bakan and we are now on the first floor. Here you can really see how deep the stairs are.

The second enclosure.

We are headed to the southern side of the northern library in the second enclosure.

The libraries at Angkor Wat are unique to the Angkor period in that they were built with entrances on each of their four walls, while examples from other temple mounts feature entrances on only the axial walls facing the main temple.

Headed Naga sculpture forming part of the balustrade. The serpents have been carved into a fan resembling a cobra’s hood. According to legend, the Khmer people were born from this reptilian race who hailed from the Netherworld. An odd number represents infinity and immortality.

The temple’s design, which is supposed to represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods, according to tenets of both the Hindu and Buddhist faiths.  Its five towers are intended to recreate the five peaks of Mount Meru, while the walls and moat below honor the surrounding mountain ranges and the sea.

The East gate

Panoramic view of the East gate.

The end of our visit and leaving via the East gate

Next...Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider)