Do you look in the south-west direction in the country, you find the "Killing Fields", and you will understand that human evilness and suffering is a part of life too. One thing I have definitely learned; it's no limits for what humans can do, either in one or another area, and in one or another way. A journey in this country you will never forget.
Wonder of the world - Angkor Wat
- "Discovered" from sky, but have to be experienced from the earth
Angkor Wat is a forgotten and rediscovered wonder that still has unsolved mysteries. This ancient monument, also called the "8 wonder of world", is located deep in the Cambodian jungle, and it hides big secrets. Angkor Wat and other temples are characterized by its splendour and perfection that have to be inspired from a universe that we don't know.
The name Angkor derives from the Sanskrit word "nagara", which means "holy city". Angkor Wat is not the oldest temple. Hagar Qim and other Neolithic temple on Malta, from 3800 year BC, are known as the oldest monuments in the world built by humans. Angkor Wat is not the highest monument either, and can not compete with the Great Pyramid in Egypt, that rose 145.75 meter (has now lost 10 metres of its top). But Angkor Wat is definitely one of the largest and most beautiful monuments that ever have been built. Here conducted the mighty Red Khmer kingdom their strange rituals. Some of them are still a mystery. As more exploration scientists do, the mystery grows bigger. Angkor Wat is simply a miracle on earth!
Cambodia is one of the few places in the world where it's possible to discover "forgotten" temples. The temples of Angkor cover an area of 77 square miles in central Cambodia. There are over 100 of them here. The discovery of Angkor Wat took place in the 1600 century, but it was first when the Frenchman Henri Mouhot discovered the monument in 1868, it became famous international.
The interest rose up to big heights in 1996 when a research group for NASA (US space organisation) flied over the north-western side of Cambodia. The plane was equipped with radar that gave the crew opportunities to look trough the dense jungle. The purpose was to map temples for conservation. Then undiscovered details from Angkor and other temples became revealed (according to the National Geographic Magazine; 2001).
The area was at that time a danger area, as it still is today, but anyway expedition was set up to explore the area. It became discovered tribes that never had seen western people before. Explorations of the mighty Khmer kingdom thousand years old remains, is something I had dreamed about for many years.
The culture treasures in Angkor are listed on UNESCO`s list over world heritage places. The safety situation in the area is at the moment better than it has been for a long time. My time was come. I just had to go there to explore one of the world's most mysterious civilisations from the past.
Floating villages
From Phnom Penh, I took a boat up the mighty Mekong River. It was in July 2001. Towards my last stop in the small town Siem Reap (Angkor Wat is located six kilometres from this town), I met local people, who waved and smiled to me from floating villages. Here do the villages floating dependent of the season. Children did the most incredible entertains to draw attention. These nice greetings made me very touched.
Photo. People on floating villages near Angkor Wat welcomed me.
Photo. People on floating villages near Angkor Wat welcomed me.
Good morning Angkor Wat
The temples of Angkors were built from 802 to 1432, when Khmer kingdom was at the height of its incredible creativity. Eagerly to see the wonder, I took my steps in to the jungle, and finally I stood on holy ground. I observed Buddha monks in yellow robes walking out from a monastery nearby. The sunrise was perfect with sky without clouds.
I kept my breath, just listened to the silence, and admired the wonder from a long distance, but not on a so far away that I was surrounded by high walls and a big volgrav filled with water. It's seldom that I feel such pleasure by staying up so early in the morning.
Angkor Wat made me in top morning mood. Slowly, but safely the first sun lights felled on the enormous temple. In small varies of colours, the monument become illuminated by the sun in its full pride, and the strange silence in the jungle become broken. I heard birds and grasshoppers started to sing. A new day had begun for full.
Photo. Angkor Wat in its full pride in the sunrise. It was a big pleasure. Later I returned to the big temple several time to see it in different light conditions.
Wat is the Thai name for temple (the French spelling is Vat), which was probably added to Angkor when it became a Theravada Buddhist monument, most likely in the 16th century (according to Dawn Rooney, the author of the book "Angkor"). Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century, approximately in the period from 1113 to 1150. It's indicated that it took about 30 years to build this wonder of the world, but it was not wasted.
It's so spectacular that people today have a great time admiring the monument. Some do it for few days once in life, and other go there yearly as a Pilgrimage trip. "Angkor" means city (which is a "temple"?). Angkor Wat can be seen as an breathtaking experience, and a kind of seduction. When I looked at Angkor Wat, I felt that the time stood still. I could stand there for hours just looking at the wonder.
Angkor Wat - largest and most intact
Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the area and the most intact. Without any shadow of doubt it can be described as an architectural masterpiece. Seen from a far distance, Angkor Wat can look like an enormous stone mass, but taking a closer look, you can see that the monument has more to offer; it has high towers, galleries, doorways (gates) mystical labyrinths, chambers, strange statues, beautiful reliefs, holy stones, terraces and courtyards on different levels of the stairs. The architectural plan make it possible to see all the temple's 5 towers from a certain angle, but it is for example not possible to view all the towers at the same time from the main entrance.
The highest tower is 65 metres high. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a 190 metres wide moat with water, shaped in an huge rectangular area on 1500 X 1300 metres. I wondered: are there hungry crocodiles in the moat? The area spreads on 3 levels, and is surrounded by 4 protecting walls. The sandstone blocks used to build Angkor Wat are from places many kilometres away. They are probably excavated from the Phnom Kulen and the Kobal Spien area, and brought down the Siem Reap River on rafts.
The temple's main entrance is from the western side. A causeway of sandstones is built across the moat that leads to the centre. The entrance has 3 gates as come after each others. Straight inside I could see two chapels dedicated to the god Vishnu. On the way to Angkor Wat and other temples, I met monks in orange robes, with incense. They conducted strange rituals and preyed to their gods. It created a strange atmosphere that made me feel like being in another world.
Photo: Monks dressed in orange robes conducted strange rituals in the temples.
One of the most exciting temples was Ta Prohn. It was almost swallowed by the dense jungle. I could imagine it looked that way when the first European explorers catch their eyes on it.
Photo: Together with this monk, I made rhythmic banging sound, with banging the chest, which gave strong echoes in the tower Ta Prohn.
In the temple Ta Prohn, an old monk took me in to a Buddha alter, which stood inside a high tower. We stood up against each others, and so the monk started to bang his chest with his hands. He encouraged me to do the same, and together we made rhythmic banging sound, which caused big echoes in the tower. Whether the Buddha understood it or not, I don't know, but the monk smiled happy afterwards, obvious satisfied and he liked very much that I joined him in the ritual. Preah Khan was another amazing temple that looked very similar as the Ta Prohn.
Photo: Magnificent temple, Ta Prohn, which is one of the most exciting temples, surrounded by trees that both destroy and protect the temple.
Many temples are well preserved despite the old origin and the devastation of the Khmer Rouge Guerrilla. My wandering and climbing in the temples mysterious labyrinths, chambers and towers during 3 - 4 days in July 2001, became a unique experience. Big Buddha statues, terraces with elephants, beautiful wall decorations of dancing nymphs (Apsaras), 7 snakes with heads, lions head, ferocious demons, combined with enormous trees and sounds from the jungle, the atmosphere felt almost unreal. I found Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohn and Preah Khan as the most interesting temples.
This article continues in part 2 and 3 - Read more
Stein Morten Lund, 11 August 2001
Additional information
Angkor Wat became added to UNESCO`s (United Nations Educational, Scentific and Cultural organisation) list of World Heritages Sites in 1992.
Reliefs carved in stone on the walls of the temples provide a glimpse of daily life at Angkor. From the scenes depicted, it's possible to understand something what people ate, what clothes they wore, dwellings, animals, flora and fauna and more.
For more detailed background information, read the book "Angkor" by Dawn F. Rooney. She has written several books about the region's culture, including Khmer Ceramics and Betel Chewing Traditions in Southeast Asia, as well as contributing articles to Oriental Art and other journals.
If you like to experience the life as it really is: beautiful, strange, friendly and incredible gruesome, you have to go to Phnom Penh, the capital in Cambodia. Do you turn your view towards north, you meet smiling people in floating villages, and in the jungle you can admire historical wonders in an beautiful scenery.
E-mail this
Print this
