Angkor Wat
19 November 2010
It was still dark when Jean and I stepped onto the ancient causeway spanning the massive baray, a moat meant to symbolize the oceans of the earth. The road noise and hawkers' cries soon faded and gave way to the slap of flip flops against the smooth flagstones and murmurs of other pilgrims who like us were bound for a dawn encounter with one of the world's great wonders
After yesterday's grueling dawn to dusk cycle temple tour I was surprised Jean and I managed to rouse ourselves at half past four. We peddled out of our guest house's courtyard, through a desolate traffic circle and north along to the river. At five the city was already beginning to stir. We soon passed out of Siem Reap traveling on a smooth two-lane road accompanied by a steady stream of tuk-tuks, motorcycles, passenger vans and a few other cyclist all bound for the ancient Khmer (Cambodian) capital of Angkor.
The Angkorian era began back in 802 AD when Jayavaram II proclaimed himself god-king of the Khmer people in a ceremony atop Mount Kulen. Over the past decade, J2 (as Jean and I affectionately refer to him) had conquered, subdued, and ultimately united enough of the Khmer states to bestow upon himself “universal kingship.”
As the empire grew the capital moved finally being firmly established in Angkor in the 10th century where it remained for 500 years. During their reigns, in addition to military conquest, the Khmer rulers seemed to be quite caught up with building temples as evidenced by the dozens of ruins in the Angkor area. Construction was heavily influenced by the Hindu mythology. Hinduism had been brought to southeast Asia by Indian traders in the first century and soon took root.
Central to the architecture of many of the temples in Angkor is the concept of the temple-mountain. In Hindu mythology, Mt. Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, sits at the center of the cosmos. Meru is a five-peaked mountain and surrounded by mountain chains and oceans.
The unequivocal greatest temple-mountain was constructed under the reign of Suryavarman II. Passing through the gate of the outer wall of Jean and I glimpsed the dark, bulbous peaks of Angkor Wat just visible against the deep blue sky. We continued down the stone walkway veering off at reflecting pool were a gaggle of tourists had formed.
I watched in silent preoccupation amidst the shutter snaps and excited whispers as the sky lightened, further revealing the finely detailed edges of the dark and imposing, pine cone shaped towers. Numerous comparisons came to mind: rockets ready to take off or buds on the verge of blossoming.
After a few minutes Jean and I removed ourselves from the crowd and moved further down the stone walkway. Then, as we circled the edifice the temple-mountain began to take on dimension and color. Owing to it unusual westward facing it is suggested that Angkor Wat may have been constructed as Suryavarman II's mausoleum in addition to his state temple.
We came around to the eastern side and found it devoid of people. The sun peeked over the tree tops casting a brilliant red glow on the spires. Jean and I took some time to admire the view before climbing the steps into the temple.
It was still dark when Jean and I stepped onto the ancient causeway spanning the massive baray, a moat meant to symbolize the oceans of the earth. The road noise and hawkers' cries soon faded and gave way to the slap of flip flops against the smooth flagstones and murmurs of other pilgrims who like us were bound for a dawn encounter with one of the world's great wonders
After yesterday's grueling dawn to dusk cycle temple tour I was surprised Jean and I managed to rouse ourselves at half past four. We peddled out of our guest house's courtyard, through a desolate traffic circle and north along to the river. At five the city was already beginning to stir. We soon passed out of Siem Reap traveling on a smooth two-lane road accompanied by a steady stream of tuk-tuks, motorcycles, passenger vans and a few other cyclist all bound for the ancient Khmer (Cambodian) capital of Angkor.
The Angkorian era began back in 802 AD when Jayavaram II proclaimed himself god-king of the Khmer people in a ceremony atop Mount Kulen. Over the past decade, J2 (as Jean and I affectionately refer to him) had conquered, subdued, and ultimately united enough of the Khmer states to bestow upon himself “universal kingship.”
As the empire grew the capital moved finally being firmly established in Angkor in the 10th century where it remained for 500 years. During their reigns, in addition to military conquest, the Khmer rulers seemed to be quite caught up with building temples as evidenced by the dozens of ruins in the Angkor area. Construction was heavily influenced by the Hindu mythology. Hinduism had been brought to southeast Asia by Indian traders in the first century and soon took root.
Central to the architecture of many of the temples in Angkor is the concept of the temple-mountain. In Hindu mythology, Mt. Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, sits at the center of the cosmos. Meru is a five-peaked mountain and surrounded by mountain chains and oceans.
We came around to the eastern side and found it devoid of people. The sun peeked over the tree tops casting a brilliant red glow on the spires. Jean and I took some time to admire the view before climbing the steps into the temple.
We quickly became absorbed by the detailed and extensive bas-reliefs that span the entire length of each outer wall. Suryavarman II's campaign against the Cham empire (civilization in modern day Vietnam) occupies the north wall, the mythological battle of Kuru with Shiva's monkey army the west wall, scenes from heaven and hell on the south wall, and the Hindu creation story, “The Churning of the Ocean of Milk,” on the east wall.
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| Torture scene from hell |
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| The gods churning the ocean of milk |
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| Vishnu overseeing the churing of the ocean on the milk supported on the back of a turtle. |
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