Friday, March 20, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Bun Lueng Meak
But Lueng Meak is one of Cambodia Celebration Ceremonies, it is make after the people harvested. Today at Chres Village, Prasat Bakong District, Siem Reap Province. It is a unique one in Siem Reap, just only this village that I see they do like this. Just only once time a year, don't miss this wonderful time.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Chau Srei Vibol Temple
Chau Srei Vibol in Cambodia is a small charming temple on top of a hill which hardly sees any visitors - very few non-locals have heard of it, and it is set just far enough away from the main tourist routes.
The central sanctuary has not been restored and is in a ruinous state but this is one of the main attractions of the site. Originally the temple would have consisted of at least two laterite walls divided by a moat, the central sanctuary, and a library to the East. Nowadays the outer wall is not visible and only the some parts and the gopuras of the inner wall remain - still enclosing a large area of shaded forest around the central temple. The sanctuary is on top of a hill and a modern Buddhist wat has been constructed nearby. A dense forest surrounds the temple and the trees will provide you with a much needed cool shade in the heat of the day. As with some of the other Siem Reap temples further afield , the calm and peacefulness of Chau Srei Vibol and its beautiful surroundings make this spot perfect for a day out trip - and one of our countryside walks ends here, either with a picnic lunch or an end of day drink.
Walk around the laterite wall until you reach the Western entrance. You will notice that despite the ruinous state of the gates the carved lintels on some of them are in quite good condition. There is a set of a steep steps on the west entrance that will take you to the top of the hill where the central sanctuary is. Some of the temple galleries have collapsed and there are big stone blocks spread over the floor of the temple. You can spot some stone lion statues among the piles. One of the Chau Srei Vibol highlights is the enormous tree that has grown out of the sanctuary building.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Phnom Krom Temple
Prasat Phnom Krom is
approximately 12 kilometers (7 .4 miles) southwest of Siem Reap near the north
end of the Tonle Sap Lake. It is located on a mountain 137 meters (449 feet)
highs. Climb the steep stairs and curved curved path through a modern temple complex
at the top of the hill. The walk affords a fine view of the lake and
surrounding area.
It was built in the end of
the ninth century beginning of the tenth century dedicated to the Hindu
Trinity- Siva, Visnu and Brahma, with following to Prasat Bakeng art style.
BACKGROUND
Yasovarman I built a temple
on each of the three hills dominating the plain of Angkor, Bakheng, Phnom Krom
and Phnom Bok. The temple of Phnom Krom is visible from the airplane as one fly
into Siem Reap.
LAYOUT
Phnom Krom is a square plan and consists of three towers in a row situated dramatically on a hilltop. They were dedicated to Siva, Visnu and Brahma respectively.
Phnom Krom is a square plan and consists of three towers in a row situated dramatically on a hilltop. They were dedicated to Siva, Visnu and Brahma respectively.
The upper portions of the
towers have collapsed and the facades are very degraded but otherwise they
remain intact. The towers are enclosed by a literate wall intersected on each
side by an entry tower in the shape of a cross.
Three long halls built of
laterite (only the bases of which remain) parallel the wall around the
courtyard. They probably served as rest houses. Four small building inside the
courtyard preceded the sanctuaries. They are similar except that the two at
either end are brick and the two in the middle are sandstone. All four have a
series of holes in the walls, which suggests they may have been used as
crematoriums.
CENTRAL TOWERS
The three central towers stand on a north south axis on a low rectangular platform with molding constructed of sandstone paving over a laterite base. Two sides of the base are intercepted by three stairways with lions on the landings. The towers are square and originally had four recessed tiers on the upper portion. they open to the east and west with false doors on the north south. Traces of decoration remain around the base of the platform near the stairs, on the pilasters, the panels of the false doors, the cornices and on niches in the corners. The upper terrace affords a panoramic view of the Great Lake and the surrounding plain.
The three central towers stand on a north south axis on a low rectangular platform with molding constructed of sandstone paving over a laterite base. Two sides of the base are intercepted by three stairways with lions on the landings. The towers are square and originally had four recessed tiers on the upper portion. they open to the east and west with false doors on the north south. Traces of decoration remain around the base of the platform near the stairs, on the pilasters, the panels of the false doors, the cornices and on niches in the corners. The upper terrace affords a panoramic view of the Great Lake and the surrounding plain.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Bakong Temple
Bakong is located at Roluos south of Preah Ko. Enter and
leave the temple at the east. A modern Buddhist temple is situated to the right
of the east entrance to Bakong. It was build in late ninth century (881) by
king Indravarman I dedicated to Siva (Hindu) followed Prah Ko art style.
BACKGROUND
Bakong was the center of the town of Hariharalaya, a name derived from the god Hari-Hara; a synthesis of Siva and Visnu. It is a temple representing the cosmic Mount Meru. Four levels leading to the Central Sanctuary correspond to the worlds of mythical beings (Nagas, Garudas, Raksasas and Yaksas).
LAYOUT
The temple of Bakong is built on an artificial mountain and enclosed in a rectangular area by two walls. It has a square base with five tiers. The first, or outside, enclosure (not on the plan) (900 by 700 meters, 2,953 by 2,297 feet) surrounds a moat with an embankment and causeways on four sides, which are bordered by low Naga balustrades. The second and smaller enclosure (1) has an entry tower (2) of sandstone and laterite in the center of each side of the wall. There were originally 22 towers inside the first enclosures. After passing through the entry tower at the east one comes to a long causeway (3) decorated with large seven-headed serpents across a moat. Long halls (4) on each side lie parallel to the eastern wall. They were probably rest houses for visitors. Two square-shaped brick building at the northeast and southeast (5) corners are identified by rows of circular holes and an opening to the west. The vents in the chimneys suggest these buildings served as crematoriums. There was originally a single building of this type at the northwest and southwest corners but today they are completely ruined. On each side of the causeway just beyond the halls there are two square structures with four doors (6). The inscription of the temple was found in the one on the right.
Further along the causeway, there are two long sandstone buildings (7) on each side, which open to the causeway. These may have been storehouses or libraries. To the north and south of the storehouses receptively there is a square brick sanctuary tower (8). There are two more on each side of the central platform, making a total of eight. Decoration on the towers is in brick with a heavy coating of stucco. The towers, with one door opening to the east and three false doors, have a stairway on each side, which is decorated with crouching lions at the base. The two to the east of the central platform have a unique feature, a double sandstone base, The door entrance and the false doors were uniformly cut from a single block of sandstone, The decoration on the false doors is exceptionally fine, especially that on the tower on the right in the front row, the false door of which has remarkable Kala handles. The corners of the towers are decorated with female and male guardians in niches.
Tip:
the lintels of the west towers are in the best condition. A long building with a gallery and a porch opening to the north (9) is situated close to the western wall (on the left); it is mostly demolished.
CENTRAL AREA (BASE AND TOWERS)
The square-shaped base (10) has five tiers with a stairway on each of the four sides and, at the base, a step in the shape of a moonstone. Remains of a small structure can be seen at the base of the stairway fairway flanked by two sandstone blocks, which may have held sculpted figures.Elephants successively smaller in size stand at the corners of the first three tiers of the base. The fourth tier is identified by twelve small sandstone towers, each of which originally contained a linga. The fifth tier is framed by a molding decorated with a frieze of figures (barely visible) the ones on the south side are in the best condition.
CENTRAL SANCTUARRY
The Central Sanctuary (11) is visible from each of the five levels because of the unusual width of the tiers. The sanctuary is square with four tiers and a lotus-shaped top. Only the base of the original Central Sanctuary remains. The rest was constructed at a later date, perhaps during the twelfth century.
LOLEI
Location: Lolei is at Roluos, north of Bakong. A modern Buddhist temple is located in the grounds of Lolei near the central towers. Access: Enter and leave the temple by the stairs at the east.
Tip:
Beware of the ants during certain seasons near the top of the entrance steps. Date: End of the ninth century (893) Religion: Transitional between Prah Ko and Bakheng
BACKGROUND
Although Lolei is small it is worth a visit for its carvings and inscription. The temple of Lolei originally formed an island in the middle of a Baray (3,800 by 800 meters, 12,467 by 2,625 feet), now dry. According to an inscription found at the temple the water in this pond was for use at the capital of Hariralaya and for irrigating the plains in the area.
LAYOUT
The layout consists of two tiers with laterite enclosing walls and stairway to the upper level in the center of each side. Lions on the landings os the stairways guard the temple. A sandstone channel in the shape of a cross situated in the center of the four towers on the upper terrace is an unusual feature, the channels extend in the cardinal directions from a square pedestal for a linga. It is speculated the holy water poured over the linga flowed in the channels.
CENTRAL SANCTUARIES
Four brick tower with tiered upper portions, arranged in two rows, on the upper terrace make up the Central Sanctuaries. As the two-north towers are aligned on the east-west axis, it is possible the original plan had six towers, which probably shared a common base like that at Prah Ko.
Tip:
The northeast tower is the best preserved.The entrances of the doors to the towers are cut from a single block of stone, as at Bakong. The corners of the towers on the east are decorated with male guardians holding tridents and those of the west with female divinities holding flywhisks. They are sculpted in sandstone with a brick casing. The panels of the false doors have multiple figures. The inscriptions on the doorframes are exceptionally fine. The workmanship on the lintels is skilled and the composition balanced. Some noteworthy depictions are: Indra on an elephant with figures and Makaras spewing serpents (northeast tower); Visnu riding a Garuda with a branch of serpents (south-east tower).
BACKGROUND
Bakong was the center of the town of Hariharalaya, a name derived from the god Hari-Hara; a synthesis of Siva and Visnu. It is a temple representing the cosmic Mount Meru. Four levels leading to the Central Sanctuary correspond to the worlds of mythical beings (Nagas, Garudas, Raksasas and Yaksas).
LAYOUT
The temple of Bakong is built on an artificial mountain and enclosed in a rectangular area by two walls. It has a square base with five tiers. The first, or outside, enclosure (not on the plan) (900 by 700 meters, 2,953 by 2,297 feet) surrounds a moat with an embankment and causeways on four sides, which are bordered by low Naga balustrades. The second and smaller enclosure (1) has an entry tower (2) of sandstone and laterite in the center of each side of the wall. There were originally 22 towers inside the first enclosures. After passing through the entry tower at the east one comes to a long causeway (3) decorated with large seven-headed serpents across a moat. Long halls (4) on each side lie parallel to the eastern wall. They were probably rest houses for visitors. Two square-shaped brick building at the northeast and southeast (5) corners are identified by rows of circular holes and an opening to the west. The vents in the chimneys suggest these buildings served as crematoriums. There was originally a single building of this type at the northwest and southwest corners but today they are completely ruined. On each side of the causeway just beyond the halls there are two square structures with four doors (6). The inscription of the temple was found in the one on the right.
Further along the causeway, there are two long sandstone buildings (7) on each side, which open to the causeway. These may have been storehouses or libraries. To the north and south of the storehouses receptively there is a square brick sanctuary tower (8). There are two more on each side of the central platform, making a total of eight. Decoration on the towers is in brick with a heavy coating of stucco. The towers, with one door opening to the east and three false doors, have a stairway on each side, which is decorated with crouching lions at the base. The two to the east of the central platform have a unique feature, a double sandstone base, The door entrance and the false doors were uniformly cut from a single block of sandstone, The decoration on the false doors is exceptionally fine, especially that on the tower on the right in the front row, the false door of which has remarkable Kala handles. The corners of the towers are decorated with female and male guardians in niches.
Tip:
the lintels of the west towers are in the best condition. A long building with a gallery and a porch opening to the north (9) is situated close to the western wall (on the left); it is mostly demolished.
CENTRAL AREA (BASE AND TOWERS)
The square-shaped base (10) has five tiers with a stairway on each of the four sides and, at the base, a step in the shape of a moonstone. Remains of a small structure can be seen at the base of the stairway fairway flanked by two sandstone blocks, which may have held sculpted figures.Elephants successively smaller in size stand at the corners of the first three tiers of the base. The fourth tier is identified by twelve small sandstone towers, each of which originally contained a linga. The fifth tier is framed by a molding decorated with a frieze of figures (barely visible) the ones on the south side are in the best condition.
CENTRAL SANCTUARRY
The Central Sanctuary (11) is visible from each of the five levels because of the unusual width of the tiers. The sanctuary is square with four tiers and a lotus-shaped top. Only the base of the original Central Sanctuary remains. The rest was constructed at a later date, perhaps during the twelfth century.
LOLEI
Location: Lolei is at Roluos, north of Bakong. A modern Buddhist temple is located in the grounds of Lolei near the central towers. Access: Enter and leave the temple by the stairs at the east.
Tip:
Beware of the ants during certain seasons near the top of the entrance steps. Date: End of the ninth century (893) Religion: Transitional between Prah Ko and Bakheng
BACKGROUND
Although Lolei is small it is worth a visit for its carvings and inscription. The temple of Lolei originally formed an island in the middle of a Baray (3,800 by 800 meters, 12,467 by 2,625 feet), now dry. According to an inscription found at the temple the water in this pond was for use at the capital of Hariralaya and for irrigating the plains in the area.
LAYOUT
The layout consists of two tiers with laterite enclosing walls and stairway to the upper level in the center of each side. Lions on the landings os the stairways guard the temple. A sandstone channel in the shape of a cross situated in the center of the four towers on the upper terrace is an unusual feature, the channels extend in the cardinal directions from a square pedestal for a linga. It is speculated the holy water poured over the linga flowed in the channels.
CENTRAL SANCTUARIES
Four brick tower with tiered upper portions, arranged in two rows, on the upper terrace make up the Central Sanctuaries. As the two-north towers are aligned on the east-west axis, it is possible the original plan had six towers, which probably shared a common base like that at Prah Ko.
Tip:
The northeast tower is the best preserved.The entrances of the doors to the towers are cut from a single block of stone, as at Bakong. The corners of the towers on the east are decorated with male guardians holding tridents and those of the west with female divinities holding flywhisks. They are sculpted in sandstone with a brick casing. The panels of the false doors have multiple figures. The inscriptions on the doorframes are exceptionally fine. The workmanship on the lintels is skilled and the composition balanced. Some noteworthy depictions are: Indra on an elephant with figures and Makaras spewing serpents (northeast tower); Visnu riding a Garuda with a branch of serpents (south-east tower).
Copy right from http://www.tourismcambodia.com
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Cambodia Half Marathon Siem Reap Angkor
 |
| Marathon At Siem Reap Angkor on 1st December every year |
International Half Marathon (10km run) at Angkor Wat ( Late December every year)
The Kingdom is proud of the host nation offering the organization of International Half Marathon at Siem Reap on the site of Angkor Wat late December ( around the 20th) every year. Participants from all over Cambodia and the world enjoy the 10 km running of the International Half Marathon around the compound of Angkor Wat, wherein large evergreen tropical trees, cool weather and the beauty of the Angkor Wat with thousands of participants and spectators are of special and great interests. The 1997 International Half Marathon brought in more than 1,000 participants from all over Cambodia and from 15 foreign countries from different continents. The figure hope to accelerate for the 1998 event--- a chance eagerly anticipated by locals and international travelers alike to enjoy the spot of Angkor Wat, one of the world's leading archeological complex wonder and the spiritual heart and identity of the Khmer people. The Khmer New Year Days (April 14 - 16) The spirit of the Khmer New Year is celebrated in Cambodia as a wholemarking the turn of New Year. All Buddhist temples are crowded with people nicely dressed up in different colors offering food to Buddhist monks. Every home, beautifully decorated, putting up the shrine full of fruits and drinks to please and earn the bless from the spirit of Heaven's God as the new year is heading. City streets are well decorated in local style, shinning in night lights different from any day in the year. The 3 day celebration marks the bless and rice harvest done during the year. It is a good time, tourists should spend time to truly understand the role and practice of Buddhism together with certain concepts of Hinduism in Cambodia at the Buddhist temples and the Cambodian households who warmly welcome all foreigners. Also, it is the right time to watch the cultural show: traditional games played in most corners of the temples and tourist sites.
(check-inn siem reap Hotel is the best location that near to Angkor Wat can make you easy for join Marathon run) www.checkinn-siemreap.com www.checkinn-siemreap.com
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Phnom Bakeng
Phnom Bakheng (Khmer:
ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាខែង) at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu temple in the form of a temple mountain. Dedicated to Shiva, it was built
at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman
(889-910). Located atop a hill, it is nowadays a popular tourist spot for
sunset views of the much bigger temple Angkor Wat,
which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km to the southeast. The large number
of visitors makes Phnom Bakheng one of the most threatened monuments of Angkor.
[1]Since 2004, World Monuments Fund has been working to
conserve the temple in partnership with APSARA.
Constructed more than two
centuries before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was in its day the principal temple
of the Angkor region, historians believes. It was the architectural centerpiece
of a new capital, Yasodharapura, that Yasovarman built when he moved the court
from the capital Hariharalaya in the Roluos area located
to the southeast.
An inscription dated 1052 AD and
found at the Sdok Kak Thom temple in present-day Thailand states
in Sanskrit:
"When Sri Yasovardhana became king under the name of Yasovarman, the able
Vamasiva continued as his guru. By the king's order, he set up a linga on Sri
Yasodharagiri, a mountain equal in beauty to the king of mountains."[1]
Scholars believe that this passage refers to the consecration of the Phnom
Bakheng temple approximately a century and a half earlier.
Surrounding the mount and temple, labor teams
built an outer moat. Avenues radiated out in the four cardinal directions from
the mount. A causeway ran in a northwest-southeast orientation from the old
capital area to the east section of the new capital's outer moat and then,
turning to an east-west orientation, connected directly to the east entrance of
the temple.[2]
Phnom Bakheng is a symbolic representation of Mount Meru,
home of the Hindu
gods, a status emphasized by the temple’s location atop a steep hill. The
temple faces east, measures 76 meters square at its base and is built in a
pyramid form of six tiers. At the top level, five sandstone sanctuaries, in
various states of repair, stand in a quincunx pattern—one in the center and one
at each corner of the level’s square. Originally, 108 small towers were arrayed
around the temple at ground level and on various of its tiers; most of them
have collapsed.[3]
Jean
Filliozat of the Ecole Francaise, a leading authority on Indian cosmology
and astronomy, interpreted the symbolism of the temple. The temple sits on a
rectangular base and rises in five levels and is crowned by five main towers.
One hundred four smaller towers are distributed over the lower four levels,
placed so symmetrically that only 33 can be seen from the center of any side.
Thirty-three is the number of gods who dwelt on Mount Meru. Phnom Bakheng's
total number of towers is also significant. The center one represents the axis
of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the four lunar phases, each
with 27 days. The seven levels of the monument represent the seven heavens and
each terrace contains 12 towers which represent the 12-year cycle of Jupiter.
According to University of Chicago scholar Paul Wheatley, it is "an
astronomical calendar in stone." [4]
Phnom Bakheng is one of three hilltop temples in
the Angkor region that are attributed to Yasovarman's reign. The other two are Phnom Krom
to the south near the Tonle Sap lake, and Phnom Bok,
northeast of the East Baray reservoir.
Following Angkor's rediscovery by the outside
world in the mid-19th century, decades passed before archeologists grasped
Phnom Bakheng's historical significance. For many years, scholars' consensus
view was that the Bayon,
the temple located at the center of Angkor Thom
city, was the edifice to which the Sdok Kak Thom inscription referred. Later
work identified the Bayon as a Buddhist site, built almost three centuries later than
originally thought, in the late 12th century, and Phnom Bakheng as King
Yasovarman's state temple.
copy from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Bakheng
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