Angkor Thom

Today is New Year's Day for the Vietnamese and Chinese but since we are in Cambodia it is just another weekend with a few more people in town for the holiday. 

We are in the city of Siam Reap, Cambodia which means Hiag Army. It is on a hill and is where the Khmer beat the Thai army in 1000 AD. With 270,000 people it is one of the smaller cities we have visited.

The temples here here were started in the 800's, destroyed and rebuilt 300-400 years later. Angkor means capital or city. Most of the temple areas were built inside of a moat with walls surrounding the city. Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom held over a million people in the 1200-1300's - more than in London or in Mexico.

Angkor Thom (meaning Large City) covered 3 square kilometers and had 5 gates. The west gate was for prisoners, the north gate was for monks, the South Gate for common folks, and two on the east with one for funerals and the second east gate was the Victory Gate for the soldiers.

The gates were guarded by 54 demons and 54 gods holding the snake god, Naga, with its 7 heads. Inside the city were 49 towers with faces on each side. The central tower had 8 sides with 8 faces. The faces represented the king who built the temple.

One temple inside Angkor Thom was the Bayon Temple. The wall around the Temple was carved with scenes of every day life of the people from war on the river with Muslim (Cham), Khmer, and Chinese; a hospital, cooking, games, and much more.

The Elephant Terrace was part of the Kings palace at one time and shows carvings of elephants. The wall is 350 meters long. There are also carvings depicting Garuda, a god with a mans body and a goat head.

The Ta Prom Temple is featured in the movie " Tomb Raiders " staring Angelina Jolee. Trees have grown up through the walls of the temple and appear to be holding it together.

A temple outside of the Angkor Wat complex is the Banteay Srei (prounced Bawn-tee sway) or City of a Woman. This Hindu temple honors Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. It is made of pink limestone and is very intricately carved with feminine figures.