Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century and was first dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is Hindu in its architecture but is now dedicated to Buddha.
You cross a moat to get to the main entrance of the temple…
The moat to the left of the temple…
The entrance itself…
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And we don’t get very far before being overwhelmed by the extent of carving. Every threshold, every cornice, every wall is carved.
Here is a collection of bas reliefs…you can click on each thumbnail to see a larger version.
You will see in some of the reliefs above and in the next photo the image of an Apsara…a common female image found throughout Asia where cultures are steeped in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. A mythical creature the Aspara is a “beautiful supernatural woman proficient in the art of dancing”.
Next is a unique rendition of Buddha an Aspara. According to our guide this is the only image of Buddha an Aspara in over 1000 temples in the Angkor Archeaological Park that is showing a toothful smile!
These next two photos show the detail of an outer wall of the main entrance…this is to the left of the Buddha Apsara with teeth.
So we’ve barely begun. We’ve just walked through the main entrance…
…and now we are making our way deeper into the temple grounds….
And we’ll keep going until we get to the King’s tower…in the center of the temple compound.
More of Angkor Wat tomorrow.
WOW! fabulous
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