“Incredible…Angkor the Great.”*
Monday, 30. April 2007, 08:29:05
Last holiday, Grace and I went to Cambodia to see the temple monuments at Angkor. One of the first tourists, an American Frank Vincent Jr., arrived by elephant in 1876.
“…suddenly we emerged from a rain forest into a clearing and saw across a pond filled with lotus plants, a long row of columned galleries, and beyond—high above the beautiful cocoa and areca palms—three or four immense pagodas, built of a dark grey stone. And my heart almost bounded into my mouth as the Cambodian driver turned and said with a bright flash of the eye and a proud turn of the lip, ‘Naghon Wat’; for we were then at the portals of the famous old ‘City of Monasteries’, and not far distant was Angkorthom—Angkor the Great”
Rediscovered by a team of French archeologists in 1866, the temples cover an area of 200 square kilometers and were founded in the 7th century by King Jayavarman ll. At that time, the Khmer Empire, as Cambodia was then known, occupied much of what is now Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, and formed a vast territory on the trade route between India & China.
It’s language, religion, and culture, were greatly influenced by India. The temples at Angkor are based on Indian designs and the Indian influence can be clearly seen in the decorations and bas-relief.
When Cambodia was conquered in 1492 by Thailand, Thailand in turn adopted much of the Cambodian culture. By the middle of the 17th century most of Cambodia had been absorbed by Thailand & Vietnam, and the country had shrunk to the relatively tiny size it is today.
Of all the temples we visited, and Angkor Wat was certainly the most impressive, we liked Ta Phrom the best. While many of the temples are slowly being restored and preserved, Ta Phrom has been left overgrown.Huge balsa trees grow in courtyards and cover the walls with massive roots.
It looks today, like the entire complex of Angkor must have looked the day it was first discovered by the Portuguese in the middle of the 16th century.
“Ta Phrom’s state of ruin is a state of beauty which is investigated with delight and left with regret…” *H. Churchill Candee, Angkor: The Magnificent, The Wonder City of Ancient Cambodia
A good reference book, from which I also quote, is Angkor by Dawn Rooney. The photographs and illustrations are remarkable.
“…suddenly we emerged from a rain forest into a clearing and saw across a pond filled with lotus plants, a long row of columned galleries, and beyond—high above the beautiful cocoa and areca palms—three or four immense pagodas, built of a dark grey stone. And my heart almost bounded into my mouth as the Cambodian driver turned and said with a bright flash of the eye and a proud turn of the lip, ‘Naghon Wat’; for we were then at the portals of the famous old ‘City of Monasteries’, and not far distant was Angkorthom—Angkor the Great”
Rediscovered by a team of French archeologists in 1866, the temples cover an area of 200 square kilometers and were founded in the 7th century by King Jayavarman ll. At that time, the Khmer Empire, as Cambodia was then known, occupied much of what is now Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, and formed a vast territory on the trade route between India & China.
It’s language, religion, and culture, were greatly influenced by India. The temples at Angkor are based on Indian designs and the Indian influence can be clearly seen in the decorations and bas-relief.
When Cambodia was conquered in 1492 by Thailand, Thailand in turn adopted much of the Cambodian culture. By the middle of the 17th century most of Cambodia had been absorbed by Thailand & Vietnam, and the country had shrunk to the relatively tiny size it is today.
Of all the temples we visited, and Angkor Wat was certainly the most impressive, we liked Ta Phrom the best. While many of the temples are slowly being restored and preserved, Ta Phrom has been left overgrown.Huge balsa trees grow in courtyards and cover the walls with massive roots.
It looks today, like the entire complex of Angkor must have looked the day it was first discovered by the Portuguese in the middle of the 16th century.
“Ta Phrom’s state of ruin is a state of beauty which is investigated with delight and left with regret…” *H. Churchill Candee, Angkor: The Magnificent, The Wonder City of Ancient Cambodia
A good reference book, from which I also quote, is Angkor by Dawn Rooney. The photographs and illustrations are remarkable.
WIDGETIZE
Yvonne Larmour # 9. July 2007, 10:43
So should have some updates on spaces live during our adventures. Cheers for now.