THE CHAMS RETEATY

A LAND OF PLENTY
The two rivers, one next to the doorpost and the other a few metres to the right, are teeming with fish.








THE CHAMS RETREATY
On the lowest level of this unfinished three-tiered scene, the Cham ar-
mies are being defeated and expelled from the Khmer kingdom. The next
panel depicts the Cham armies advancing, and the badly deteriorated panel show the Cham (on the left) chasing the Khmer. THE SACKING OF ANGKOR This panel shows the war of 1177, when the Khmers were defeated by the
Chams, and Angkor was pillaged. The wounded Khmer king is being low-
ered from the back of an elephant and a wounded Khmer general is being
carried on a hammock suspended from a pole. Directly above, despairing
Khmers are getting drunk. The Chams (on the right) are in hot pursuit
of their vanquished enemy.

THE CHAMS ENTER ANGKOR
This panel depicts another meeting of the two armies. Notice the flag bearers
among the Cham troops (on the right ). The Chams were defeated in the war.
Which ended in 1181, as depicted on panel A.

BAPUON
Baphuon would have been one of the most spectacular of Angkor’s temples in its heyday. Located 200m northwest of Bayon, it’s a pyramidal
representation of mythical Mt Meru. Construction probably began under
Suryavarman I and was later completed by Udayadityavarman II
(r 1049- 65). It marked the centre of the city that existed before
the construction of Angkor Thom. Baphuon was the centre of EFEO restoration efforts when the Cambodian civil war erupted and work paused

for a quarter of a century. The temple
was taken apart piece by piece, in keeping with the anastylosis method of
renovation, but all the records were destroyed during the Khmer rouge
years, leaving experts with the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle. The EFEO
resumed a 10-year restoration programme in 1995, which is running behind
schedule but will see the temple reopen some time during the lifetime.
Baphuon is approached by a 200m elevated walkway made of
sandstone, and the central structure is 43m high.
On the western side of the temple is the retaining wall of the second level.
The wall was fashioned-apparently in the 15th or 16th century - into a
reclining Buddha 60m in length. The unfinished figure is quite difficult to
make out, but the head is on the northern side of the wall and the gate is
where the hips should be, to the left of the grate protrudes an arm. When
it comes to the legs and feet - the latter are entirely gone - imagination
must suffice. This huge project was undertaken by the Buddhist faithful
around 500 years ago, which reinforces the fact that Angkor was never
entirely abandoned.

ROYAL ENCLOSURE & PHIMEANAKAS
Phimeanakas stands close to the centre of a walled area that once housed
the royal palace. There’s very little left of the palace today except for two
sandstone pools near the northern wall. Once the site of royal ablutions,
these are now used as swimming holes by local children. It is fronted to
the east by the Terrace of Elephants. Construction of the palace began
under Rajendravarman II, although it was used by Jayavarman V and
Udayadityavarman I. It was later added to and embellished by Jayavarman
VII (who else?) and his successors.
Phimeanakas means ‘Celestial palace’, and some scholars say that it was
once topped by a golden spire. Today it only hints at its former splendour and
looks a little worse for wear. The temple is another pyramidal representation
of Mt Meru, with three levels. Most of the decorative features are broken or
have disappeared. Still, it is worth chambering up to the second and third
levels for good views of Baphuon.

PREAH PALILAY
Preah Palilay is one of the most atmospheric temples in Angkor Thom,
Located about 200m north of the Royal Enclosure’s northern wall. It was
erected during the rule of Jayavarman VII and originally housed a Buddha,
which has long since vanished. There are several enormous trees looming
large over the central sanctuary, which make for a fine photo.

TEP PRANAM
Tep Pranam, an 82m by 34m cruciform Buddhist terrace 150m east of Preah
Palilay, was once the base of a pagoda of lightweight construction. Nearby is
a Buddha that’s 4.5m high, but it ‘s a reconstruction of the original. A group
of Buddhist nuns lives in a wooden structure close by.

PREAH PITHU
Preah Pithu, which is across Northern away from Tep Pranam, is a group of
12th-century Hindu and Buddhist temples enclosed by a wall. It includes
Some beautifully decorated terraces and guardian animals in the form of
Elephants and lions.

TERRACE OF THE LEPER KING
The Terrace of the Leper King is just north of the Terrace of Elephants.
It is a 7m-high platform, on top of which stands a nude, though sexless,
Statue. It is yet anotherof Angkor’s mysteries. The original of the statue
is in Phnom Penh’s National Museum (p84), and various theories have
been advanced to explain its meaning. Legend has it that at least two of
the Angkor kings had leprosy, and the statue may represent one of them.
Another theory, and a more likely explanation, is that the statue is of
Yama, the god of death , and that the Terrace of the Leper King housed the
royal crematorium.
The front retaining walls of the terrace are decorated with at least five tiers
of meticulously executed carvings of seated apsaras; other figures include
kings wearing pointed diadems, armed with short double-edged swords and
accompanied by the court and princesses, the latter adorned with beautiful
rows of pearls. The terrace, built in the late 12th century between the con-
struction of Angkor wat and the Bayon , once supported a pavilion made
of lightweight materials.
On the southern side of the terrace of the leper King (facing the Terrace
of Elephants), there is access to the front wall of a hidden terrace that was
covered up when the outer structure was built - a terrace within a terrace.
The four tiers of apsaras and other figures, including nagas, look as fresh as
if they had been carved yesterday, thanks to being covered up for centuries.
Some of the figures carry fearsome expression.

TERRACE OF ELEPHANTS
The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant viewing stand for
public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s grand audience hall. As
you stand here, try to imagine the pomp and grandeur of the Khmer empire at
its height, with infantry, cavalry, horse-drawn chariots and elephants parad-
ing across the central Sq in a colourful procession, pennants and standards
aloft. Looking on is the god-king, crowned with a gold diadem, shaded by
multitiered parasols and attended by mandarins and handmaidens bearing
gold and silver utensils.
The Terrace of Elephants has five piers extending towards the Central Sq-
three in the centre and one at eact end. The middle section of the retaining
wall is decorated with life-size garudas and lions; towards either end are
the two parts of the famous parade of elephants, complete with their
Khmer mahouts.

KLEANGS & PRASAT SUOR PRAT
Along the east side of Central Sq are two groups of buildings, called Kleangs.
The North Kleang and the south Kleang may at one time have been pal-
aces. The North Kleang has been dated from the period of Jayavarman V
(r 968-1001).
Along the Central Sq in from of the two Kleangs are 12 laterite towers-
10 in a row and two more at right angles facing the Ave of Victory – known
As the Prasat sour Prat or Temple of the Tightrope Dancers. Archaeologists
believe the towers, which from an honour guard along Central Sq, were
constructed by Jayavarman VII (r 1181- 1219). It is likely that each one
originally contained either a linga or a statue. It is said artists performed
for the king on tightropes or rope - bridges strung between these towers.


AROUND ANGKOR THOM
TA PROHM
Ta Prohm is undoubtedly the most atmospheric ruin at Angkor and should Be high on the hit list of every visitor. Its appeal lies in the fact that, unlike the other monuments of Angkor, it has been swallowed by the jungle, and looks very much the way most of the monuments of Angkor appeared when European explorers first stumbled upon them. Well, that’s the theory, but in fact the jungle is pegged back and only the largest trees are left in place,
making it manicures rather than raw like Beng Mealea. Still, a visit to Ta
Prohm is a unique, other – world experience. The temple is cloaked in dap –
Pled shadow, its crumbling towers and walls locked in the slow muscular
Embrace of vast root systems. If Amgkor Wat, the Bayon and other temples
are testimony to the genius of the ancient Khmer, Ta Prohm reminds us
equally of the awesome fecundity and power of the jungle. There is a poetic
cycle to this venerable ruin, with humanity first conquering nature to rapidly
create, and nature once again conquering humanity to slowly destroy. Built
from 1186 and originally known as Rajavihara (monastery of the king), Ta prohm was
a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII. It is one of the few temple
in the Angkor region where an inscription provides information about the temple’s
dependents and inhabitants. Ta prohm is a temple of towers, closed courtyards and narrow
corridors. May of the corridors are impassable, clogged with jumbled piles of delicately
carved stone blocks dislodged by the roots of long-decayed trees. Bas-reliefe on bulging
walls are carpeted with lichen, moss and creeping plants, and shrubs sprout from
the roofs of monumental porches. Trees, hundreds of year old – some supported by flying
buttresses – tower overhead, their leave filtering the sunlight and casting a greenish pall
over the whole scene. The most popular of the many strangulating root formations is that
on the inside of the easternmost gopura ( entrance pavilion) of the central enclosure,
nicknamed the Crocodile Tree. It used to be possible to clim onto the damaged galleries,
but this is now prohibited to protect both the temple and visitor. Many of these
precariously balanced stones weigh a tonne or more and woulg do some serious
damage if they came down.