Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
horse-drawn chariots and elephants parading across Central Sq in a colourful procession,
pennants and standards aloft. Looking on is the god-king, crowned with a gold diadem,
shaded by multitiered parasols and attended by mandarins and handmaidens bearing gold
and silver utensils.
The Terrace of Elephants has five piers extending towards the Central Sq - three in the
centre and one at each end. The middle section of the retaining wall is decorated with life-
size
garudas
and lions; towards either end are the two parts of the famous parade of ele-
phants, complete with their Khmer mahouts.
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Kleangs & Prasat
Suor Prat
Along the east side of Central Sq are two groups of buildings, called Kleangs. The North
Kleang and the South Kleang may at one time have been palaces. The North Kleang has
been dated from the period of Jayavarman V.
Along Central Sq in front of the two Kleangs are 12 laterite towers - 10 in a row and
two more at right angles facing the Ave of Victory - known as the Prasat Suor Prat, mean-
ing 'Temple of the Tightrope Dancers'. Archaeologists believe the towers, which form an
honour guard along Central Sq, were constructed by Jayavarman VII. It is likely that each
one originally contained either a
linga
or a statue. It is said artists performed for the king
on tightropes or rope bridges strung between these towers.
According to Chinese emissary Chou Ta-Kuan, the towers of Prasat Suor Prat were also
used for public trials of sorts - during a dispute the two parties would be made to sit in-
side two towers, one party eventually succumbing to illness and thus proven guilty.
