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These structures were built of wood and have perished but the remaining stone
monuments testify that Angkor Thom was indeed a "Great City" as its name
implies. Temples inside the walls of the city described in this article are
Bayon, Baphuon,
Phimeanakas,
Terrace of the
Elephants,
Terrace of the Leper
King, Prah Palilay, Tep Pranam and
Prasat Suor Prat.
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The Royal Palace situated within
the city of Angkor Thom is of an earlier date and belonged to kings of the tenth
and first half of the tenth and first half of the eleventh centuries. Although
the foundations and an enclosing wall around the palace with entry towers have
been identified, little evidence remains of the layout of the buildings inside
the enclosure. This absence of archaeological evidence of the royal buildings
suggests that they were constructed of wood and have perished. The French
ascertained a general plan of the Royal Palace (see map opposite). It included
the temple-mountain of Phimeanakas and surrounding pools together with
residences and buildings for administering the capital, which were probably at
the back of the enclosure. Jayavarman VII reconstructed the original site of the
Royal Palace Palace to erect the city of Angkor Thom, which was centered on the
temple of Bayon and surrounded by a wall. Zhou Daguan the Chinese
emissary, who provided the only first-hand account o f the Khmer, described the
splendor of Angkor Thom. |
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At the center of the Kingdom
rises a Golden tower Bayon flanked by more than twenty lesser towers and several
hundred stone chambers. On the eastern side is a golden bridge guarded by two
lions of gold, one on each side, with eight golden Buddhas spaced along the
stone chambers. North of the Golden Tower of Bronze [Baphuon], higher even than
the Golden tower. a truly astonishing spectacle. With more than ten chambers at
its base. A quarter of a mile further north is the residence of the King rising
above his private apartments is another tower of gold, These are the monuments
which have caused merchants from overseas to speak so often of "Cambodia
the rich and noble "
Symbolically, Angkor Thom is a
microcosm of the universe, divided into four parts by the main axes. The temple
of the Bayon is situated at the exact center of the axes and stands as the
symbolical link between heaven and earth. The wall enclosing the city of Angkor
Thom represents the stonewall around the universe and the mountain ranges around
Meru. The surrounding moat (now dry) symbolizes the cosmic ocean.
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Face at Angkor Thom |
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LAYOUT
The city of Angkor Thom consists of a square, each side of which is about
three kilometers (1.9 miles) long a laterite wall 8 meters (26 feet) in height
around the city encloses an are of 145.8 hectares (360 acres). A moat with a
width of 100meters (328 feet) surrounds the outer wall. An entry tower and along
causeway bisect each side of the wall except on the east where are two
entrances. The additional one, called the "Gate of Victory "is aligned
with the causeway leading to the Terraces of the Elephants and the Leper King. A
small temple known as "Prasat Chrung' stands at each corner of the wall
around the city of Angkor Thom. An earth embankment 25 meters (82 feet) wide
supports the inner side of the wall and serves as a road around the city.
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CAUSEWAY WITH STONE FIGURES
A long causeway leading to each
entry tower is flanked by a row of 54 stone figures on each side – demons on
the right and gods on the left-to make a total of 108 mythical beings guarding
the city of Angkor Thom. The demons have a grimacing expression and wear a
military headdress whereas the gods look serene with their almond-shaped eyes
and wear a conical headdress. (Some of the heads on these figures are copies;
the original ones have been removed and are at the Angkor Conservancy in Siem
Reap).
A serpent spreads its nine heads
in the shape of a fan at the beginning of the causeway. Its body extends the
length of the causeway and is held by the gods and demons forming a serpent-like
railing. It may symbolize the rainbow uniting the worlds of man and the gods.
This representation is reinforced by the presence of Indra.
A small sandstone temple
dedicated to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara occupies each corner of the wall
enclosing the city of Angkor Thom. An inscription at the temple names Jayavarman
VII as the builder and gives the charter of the foundation of the wall and moat
of the city. Each temple is in the shape of a cross opens to the east with a
porch on each side, and is crowned with a lotus-shaped top. Abase with two tiers
supports the temple. Female figures in niches and false windows typical of the
period decorate the exterior. The upper half of the window is sealed with
laterite blocks in emulation of an awning; the lower half contains balusters.
ENTRY TOWERS
Through here all comers to the
city had to pass, and in honor of this function it has been built in a style
grandiose and elegant, forming a whole, incomparable in its strength and
expression.
The five entry towers are among
the most photographed of all the ancient Cambodian ruins. Each sandstone tower
rises 23 meters (75 feet) to the sky and is crowned with four heads, one facing
each cardinal direction. The faces may represent the rulers of the four cardinal
points at the summit of mount Meru.
The lower half of each gate is
modeled like an elephant with three heads. Their trunks,, which serve as
pillars, are plucking lotus flowers. The Hindu god Indra sits at the center of
the elephant with an Apsara on each side. He holds a thunderbolt in his lower
left hand.
Looking through the tower one
can see a corbel arch, a hallmark of Khmer architecture. Inside, wooden
crossbeams are visible and a sentry box stands on each side.
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