Cambodia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 454

Around Angkor Thom

Sights

Ta Prohm
The ultimate Indiana Jones fantasy, Ta Prohm is cloaked in dappled shadow, its crumbling
towers and walls locked in the slow muscular embrace of vast tree-root systems. If
Angkor Wat, the Bayon and other temples are testimony to the genius of the ancient Kh-
mers, Ta Prohm reminds us equally of the awesome fecundity and power of the jungle.
There is a poetic cycle to this venerable ruin, with humanity first conquering nature to
rapidly create, and nature once again conquering humanity to slowly destroy.
Built from 1186 and originally known as Rajavihara (Monastery of the King), Ta
Prohm was a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII. Ta Prohm is a
temple of towers, enclosed courtyards and narrow corridors. Ancient trees tower over-
head, their leaves filtering the sunlight and casting a greenish pall over the whole scene. It
is the closest most of us will get to experiencing the excitement of the explorers of old.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE

Phnom Bakheng
MAP
Around 400m south of Angkor Thom, this hill's main draw is the sunset view of Angkor
Wat, though this has turned into something of a circus, with hundreds of visitors jockeying
for space. The temple, built by Yasovarman I (r 889-910), has five tiers with seven levels
(including the base and the summit).

HINDU TEMPLE

Preah Khan
MAP
(Sacred Sword) The temple of Preah Khan is one of the largest complexes at Angkor - a
maze of vaulted corridors, fine carvings and lichen-clad stonework. Constructed by Jayav-
arman VII, it covers a very large area, but the temple itself is within a rectangular wall of
around 700m by 800m.
Preah Khan is a genuine fusion temple, the eastern entrance dedicated to Mahayana
Buddhism with equal-sized doors, and the other cardinal directions dedicated to Shiva,
Vishnu and Brahma with successively smaller doors, emphasising the unequal nature of
Hinduism.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE