Phil & Gail: The Ancient Temples of the Khmer Empire

Before visiting Cambodia, when we thought about the temples we would see, what came to mind was something vague called "Angkor Wat." During our five days of exploring the temples around the city of Siem Riep, we learned the the Khmer kings began building stone temples in the late ninth century and continued to do so through the twelfth and early thirteenth century, when the largest and most dramatic structures were built, including the temple of Angkor Wat. We took over two thousand photos of the temples. Since you probably don't want to see all of them, begin by noticing the new photo at the top of the page: Buddhist monks at Angkor Wat.

Although the term "wat" refers to a Buddhist temple or monastery, almost all of the Khmer temples were actually an expression of the kings' Hindu religion. One of the last temples we visited is the oldest: Preah Ko. It set a pattern for subsequent temples, using multiple towers each with a doorway facing east.



Inside the towers were sacred Hindu monuments, linga, like this one from another temple.




The oldest temples were often constructed of brick covered with highly carved plaster. Sandstone was used for door frames and a few carvings, like the gray figure below.



As the building styles of the kings evolved, two patterns emerged: the mountain temple, such as Pre Rup which was built around 961, in a sort of pyramid style and dedicated to the gods and god-kings,



and temples on a level platform dedicated to nobility, such as Banteay Srei which was built around 967.



This little temple has amazing bas-relief carvings decorating the whole temple complex.





Angkor Wat is one of the grandest and the most intact of the temples. It was constructed in the first half of the twelfth century with the exterior entirely of sandstone.



Not only was it an impressive structure, we also enjoyed the sunsets there.



One of the last, and probably the most prolific builder was a Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII (1181-1220). His most famous structure is the temple Bayon.



At one time it had fifty-four towers, for the fifty-four districts in the Khmer empire.



Each tower had four huge faces carved into them.



The faces are said to either represent the Buddhist embodiment of compassion, Avalokiteshvara (a Sanskrit name which literally means "one who looks down"), but it is also said to be the face of the king. Either way, Phil thinks that living with all those faces looking down on one might lead to a sense of paranoia about big brother watching.

Exploring the temples with our guide was a great delight. This entry only begins to touch on everything we saw. If you're interested in learning more about the temples, one excellent book is Dawn Rooney's Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples.