angkor wat – https://glendalarke.com Sat, 13 Mar 2021 10:28:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 166493378 Angkor Wat https://glendalarke.com/2011/05/angkor-wat/ https://glendalarke.com/2011/05/angkor-wat/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 17:20:00 +0000 Continue reading →]]>

The Angkor Wat temple complex (also early 12th century) was built as the state temple for the capital city. It is the best-preserved temple and the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist.  It is supposed to be the world’s largest religious building.

One of the things visitors always do is go to watch the dawn there…

 A very popular place at this hour in the morning, even in the off season (when we were there)
And looking the other way, this is what you see…
View from the main temple building
No comment
There’s a swarm of bees in this pix – just right of top centre
 To be quite honest, I didn’t find this main temple of the Angkor area particularly attractive. One comes to see Angkor Wat, but many of the other temples are more interesting.
]]> https://glendalarke.com/2011/05/angkor-wat/feed/ 4 2812 A City called Angkor Thom https://glendalarke.com/2011/04/city-called-angkor-thom/ https://glendalarke.com/2011/04/city-called-angkor-thom/#comments Fri, 29 Apr 2011 02:49:00 +0000 Continue reading →]]>

More from our Cambodian trip.
We watched the cormorants flying in to roost
Angkor Thom was the last capital of the Khmer Empire. It was surrounded by a moat and a wall and contained numerous temples and a Royal Palace going back to first half of the tenth century. 
(Think about that for a moment! That was the end of the period usually referred to as the Dark Ages in European history.)

G&Ts beside the canal

Although the foundations and an enclosing wall around the palace with entry towers have been identified, many buildings, probably constructed of wood, have gone.   
 A long causeway leading to each entry tower is flanked by a row of 54 stone figures on each side – demons on the right and gods on the left-to make a total of 108 mythical beings guarding the city of Angkor Thom.
We took an evening boat ride on the canal
 The city is a square, each side three kilometers (1.9 miles) long, with an 8 meters (26 feet) high wall and a moat with  100meters (328 feet) wide.
Daughter and family

]]> https://glendalarke.com/2011/04/city-called-angkor-thom/feed/ 3 2835