We arrived yesterday evening in Seim Reap, Capital of the ancient Khmer Empire and host to a huge number of wats, or temples. These were built by various kings to glorify themselves, the empire and the gods. There are dozens of them, most close to a thousand years old clustered together in the jungle outside of town. We got an early start, and had a power-packed day, visiting 5 mega-wats and a handful of smaller ones before dinner. The first was the famous Angkor Wat, an enormous structure, claimed to be the largest religious building in the world. It is surrounded by a moat 100 yards across that is over 2 miles long. The walls and buildings were made out of sandstone, so many of the intricate carvings that once covered them have suffered from exposure, but it's amazing how much is still intact.
Our second stop was the Bayon, centrally located in the ancient walled and moated city of Angkor Thom. This one was built by a particularly powerful king, Jayavarman VII, who reminded people he was watching them big-brother style, using 216 giant heads carved into the towers of the temple, said to resemble the great king himself. The Bayon also featured carvings on the outer walls depicting various military events.
The nearby Baphuon is a slightly older relic, disassembled for renovation prior to the rise of the Khmer Rouge, who subsequently destroyed all the documentation, leaving a giant jigsaw puzzle. It looked like it is still unfinished. The next stop was Ta Keo, a tall and steep but unadorned temple that gave us a bit of a workout. Then we moved on to Tevoda, a temple where giant trees have grown over the aisles and sent roots into the cracks between stones, threatening to tear a wat, or even kill a wat by destabilizing its buildings. We are told that this temple was featured in the Tomb Raider movie, so I guess we'll have to check that out.
Where do you plan to spend the big birthday???
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