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Angkor city
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Angkor - the name is derived from the Sanskrit
word "nagara" meaning city or capital - is spread out over 230
km2 and it contains more than 1,000 monuments dating from different periods,
witnessing different religions or cults and varying in style accordingly.
27 kings are known to have ruled this ancient city between 802 and 1327.
Beyond that date, no more written sources can be found.
In 1432, this capital was abandoned to the jungle but its existence was
never forgotten and became the source of legends and folk tales. Towards
the end of the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish adventurers travelled
to Angkor. They were fascinated by the "walled city," "one
of the wonders of the world," making particular note of the Bayon and
the Royal Palace. A handful of Japanese also came to Angkor in the early
17th century.
Cambodian
peasants living on the edge of the thick jungle around the Tonle Sap lake
reported findings which puzzled the French colonialists who arrived in
Indo-China in the 1860s.
Henri Mahout's rediscovery of the Angkor temples in 1860 opened up this
`lost city' to the world, which was then picked up as an object for study,
primarily by the École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO)... |
The legend became fact and a stream of
explorers, historians and archaeologists came to Angkor to explain the
meaning of these vast buildings
The earliest of these scholars could not believe that Angkor had been
built by the Cambodian people, believing the temples to have been built by
another race who had conquered and occupied Cambodia maybe 2,000 years
before. Gradually, some of the mysteries were explained, the Sanskrit
inscriptions deciphered and the history of Angkor slowly pieced together,
mainly by French scholars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The mountain temples as representation of
Phnom Preah Sumeru (or Mount
Meru), raising from the Ocean of Milk, which may be represented by a moat,
is the main symbolic motive throughout most of the structures you are
going see. These symbols represent the universe in Indian cosmological
conceptions adopted in ancient Cambodia.
The "Churning of the Ocean of Milk" (in Khmer Ko Samutra
Toek Dos) refers to a Hindu saga,
taken from the Bhagavata Purana about a conflict between the Adityas and
their enemies the Asuras. |
To reverse a curse placed upon Devaloka (the world of the Gods), Gods and Demons have been churning this ocean, hoping to
produce the Toek Amridh, the Ambrosia, a nectar that will render them immortal and incorruptible.
Unsuccessful and exhausted from fighting, the Gods asked Preah Visnu
(Lord Vishnu) for help.
Preah Visnu instructed them to continue churning but work together with, not against
the Demons to extract the Toek Amridh.
They began churning again, using Mt. Mandara as a churning stick and the snake Vasuki wrapped
around it. The body of the serpent was stretched horizontally
along the gallery and held by a row of Gods on one side and a row of
Demons on the other side, the Gods from the side of the tail and the Demons from the
head. They pulled first in one direction, then in
the other to generate the elixir. This
caused Mt. Mandara to turn. When the sacred mountain which
forms the pivot began to sink in
the Ocean of Milk, Preah Visnu came to the rescue. He incarnated in the form of the
tortoise Kurma
to support the mountain by letting them use his back as the turning
point upon which the churning stick could turn.
When the serpent started to vomit a poison that threatened to
contaminate the Ocean of Milk, Preah Chiva (Lord Shiva) took it in his mouth, which turned
his throat blue.
The Ocean was churned in this way for another 1,000
years before their efforts were rewarded. They finally
succeeded , thus extracting not
only the Toek Amridh (amvrita, the nectar), many other treasures emerged, including the Goddess Leaksmi, the
Sura the Goddess of wine, Preah Chandr (Lord Chandra) the moon, the elephant Airavara,
Rambha the nymph and the Apsaras.
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This symbolism went much further than this obvious symbol. Distances
between separate sections of a temple representing time periods or eras
within this cosmology, all based on the magic calculations of the Brahman mystics.
The mountain temples allowed the king to remain in contact with the
heavens and the Divine. It all supported the existence of the
God-King. The face that is repeated time after time is that of Preah
Prum (or Preah Prohm), Lord Brahma himself.
Angkor is more than just one town. Angkor is a number of towns spanning
over 600 years.
Angkor Thom was recreated after the city sacking by the Chams in
1117, emerging as ambrosia after the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. This
is why the churning episode was repeated at each of the five gates giving
entry to the city.
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The city took a more or less final form around the end of the 12th
century under the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181-1219), although
some construction within the city walls took place after his reign.
More recent archaeological research has revealed that Angkor city
covered approx. 81 hectares but as most of it was build of wood, it
has long since decayed. Angkor consisted of an intricate structure of
canals and embankments.
At some point, it had more than a million
inhabitants. The water collection and irrigation system sustained three
rice crops per year.
Too frequent wars may have caused a neglect for the maintenance of this
ingenious system. Climate change and land-clearing may also have
contributed to the destruction of the delicately balanced structure. This
ultimately led to the abandonment of the city.
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To get an idea of the grandeur of this historical site, visitors should
set aside at least 3 days. Foreigners have to purchase a pass in order to be
allowed access to the sites.
You can buy:
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one-day pass: $20
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three-days pass: $40
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seven-days pass: $60
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The sites are open from 5 am to 6 pm.
Visitors who have only one day to visit this cultural heritage
should consider to visit the following sites:
morning
afternoon
Suggested schedule for visitors who can set aside two days for
visit:
Day 1 morning
afternoon
Day 2 morning
afternoon
For visitors who can afford a three day visit to the Angkor
complex, we would suggest a schedule like this:
Day 1 morning
afternoon
Day 2 morning
Afternoon
Day 3 morning
afternoon
Balloon rides
Balloon rides can offer you an amazing view over the temples and
landscape from an unusual perspective. You can board the balloon about 1
km west of Angkor Wat.
If you want to photograph the temples by sunrise, you will have to
arrive very early: this is a very popular time for balloon rides
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