Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ANGKOR THOM
It is hard to imagine any building bigger or more beautiful than Angkor Wat, but in Angkor
Thom the sum of the parts add up to a greater whole. Aptly named, the fortified city of
Angkor Thom is indeed a 'Great City' on an epic scale. The last great capital of the Khmer
empire, and set over 10 sq km, Angkor Thom took monumental to a whole new level. It
was built in part as a reaction to the surprise sacking of Angkor by the Chams, after Jayav-
arman VII (r 1181-1219) decided that his empire would never again be vulnerable at home.
Beyond the formidable walls is a massive moat that would have stopped all but the hardiest
invaders in their tracks. At the city's height, it may have supported a population of one mil-
lion people in the surrounding region. Centred on Bayon, the mesmerising, if mind-bend-
ing, state temple, Angkor Thom is enclosed by a
jayagiri
(square wall) 8m high and 12km
in length and encircled by a 100m-wide
jayasindhu
(moat). This architectural layout is yet
another expression of Mt Meru surrounded by the oceans.
It is the gates that grab you first, flanked by a vast representation of the Churning of the
Ocean of Milk, 54 demons and 54 gods engaged in an epic tug of war on the causeway.
Each gate towers above the visitor, the magnanimous faces of the Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara staring out over the kingdom. Imagine being a peasant in the 13th century
approaching the forbidding capital for the first time. It would have been an awe-inspiring
yet unsettling experience to enter such a gateway and come face to face with the divine
power of the god-kings.
