While I was in Cambodia to play some concerts and visit my friend S, I had the opportunity to visit the complex of temples known as Angkor Wat which is located in and around the town of Siem Reap in north-western Cambodia. The temples in this area were built between 900 and 1100 at a time when they were surrounded by a metropolis of almost one million inhabitants. This would make it one of the largest metropolitan areas of the planet at the time. To roughly compare, this was at a time when London had approximately 55,000 inhabitants.
The photo above is a (small) portion of the outer wall of the Angkor Wat complex.
Inside the surrounding wall are two large fields bisected by a path that leads up to the main temple. During the rainy season, ponds form from collected water. The photo above is just the beginning of one.
The photo above is of more of the surrounding buildings leading up to the main temple complex.
This is the first of several galleries of carvings and etchings depicting various creation myths. These temples began as Hindu endeavors but were later converted to Buddhism as the population changed.
One of the more ornate carvings.
This is the central building of the complex.
This is an interior courtyard at the top of the main building. A guide explained that when the building was still functional as a royal and holy place, this courtyard would have actually had a pool in the center.
This last photo is of some of the Buddhist shrines that have appeared and that are maintained by local people.
While I was in Cambodia to play some concerts and visit my friend S, I had the opportunity to visit the complex of temples known as Angkor Wat which is located in and around the town of Siem Reap in north-western Cambodia. The temples in this area were built between 900 and 1100 at a time when they were surrounded by a metropolis of almost one million inhabitants. This would make it one of the largest metropolitan areas of the planet at the time. To roughly compare, this was at a time when London had approximately 55,000 inhabitants.
The photo above is a (small) portion of the outer wall of the Angkor Wat complex.
Inside the surrounding wall are two large fields bisected by a path that leads up to the main temple. During the rainy season, ponds form from collected water. The photo above is just the beginning of one.
The photo above is of more of the surrounding buildings leading up to the main temple complex.
This is the first of several galleries of carvings and etchings depicting various creation myths. These temples began as Hindu endeavors but were later converted to Buddhism as the population changed.
One of the more ornate carvings.
This is the central building of the complex.
This is an interior courtyard at the top of the main building. A guide explained that when the building was still functional as a royal and holy place, this courtyard would have actually had a pool in the center.
This last photo is of some of the Buddhist shrines that have appeared and that are maintained by local people.
No comments:
Post a Comment