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Thursday, November 14, 2013 is the second of our three temple days. The temples are the crown jewels of Cambodia's tourism. Our guide recommended that we start our temple trek with Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm means 'the ancestor of Brahma' and was built by Jayavarman VII in the 12th century to honor his mother. This temple has a remarkable symbiotic relationship with nature. Many Sleng trees, part of the ficus family, are simultaneously holding the temple together and tearing it apart. This creates an incredible effect. Parts of the temple appear to serve as a resting place for a pre-historic octopus with any available crevice for a tentacle. My favorite part of this temple was the Echo Chamber, which was a small area in one of the towers. You place your back against the wall and tap your chest around your heart. This creates a vibration that sounds like a yogic chant and fills the chamber with a soothing pulse of all our collective heartbeats. If you speak or clap your hands, there is no echo.
The second temple we saw was Bayon, which is exactly in the center of Angkor Thom. This temple was also built by Jayavarman VII in the 12th century and it has 54 towers with 216 faces (each tower having four faces) of Avlokitesvara (or Buddha). Ironically, these faces are reported to have a striking resemblance to Jayavarman alluding to an inflated ego problem. Nevertheless, the four faces represent charity, compassion, sympathy, and equality and these were the core values for the temple. There is an extensive bas-relief on the outer wall with over 11,000 figures depicting battles won and lost as well as a glimpse into the every day life of gods, demons and man. There is a place on the second level of the temple that if you stand a certain way it appears that you are nose to nose with a Buddha. Yes, it's a cheesy and touristy thing to do and yes, we all did it.
The last, and most expansive temple, was Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II between 1113 and 1150 and it reminded me of Macchu Picchu in size and scope. This temple is the national symbol of Cambodia and is the largest religious building in the world. It began as a Hindu temple but was later converted to Buddhist after the religious revolution by Jayavarman VII in the 13th century. We entered from the back to avoid the crowds and even that was magnificent. The temple is surrounded by an extensive moat and can be accessed through four gates. Each gate is flanked by 108 gods and demons (54 to a side) holding a serpent with the aim to 'churn the ocean milk' to extract the elixir of immortality. This story is told more elaborately on the bas-reliefs stretching in the four 800-metered galleries. There are three levels and we explored them all. It's hard to do justice to Angkor Wat in a blog because it so remarkable. One of the highlights for me was climbing to the top level and being able to see how far Angkor Thom extends. We left through the grand entrance and our guide found the perfect spot to take a picture. We not only got the perfect angle of the temple but captured its reflection in the moat as well.
Sally
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