Taken from the website of Galen R Frysinger and uploaded here for the convenience of viewer of this site.

1. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 1/16
Angkor Wat
entrance
Angkor Wat, renowned Hindu temple complex at Ângkôr, the region that
served from 802 until 1295 as the capital of the Khmer Empire of Cambodia,
now a destination for Buddhist pilgrims. Built for King Suryavarman II in the
12th century, Angkor Wat is the most famous temple in Cambodia and is
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2. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 2/16
probably the largest religious monument ever constructed.
the complex
The complex, built of both sandstone and laterite (a dense, porous, iron-
bearing soil that can be quarried like stone), forms a rectangle of about 850
m by 1000 m (2800 by 3800 ft). It was constructed to serve both as a
sepulchre for Suryavarman II, whose regime had adopted some aspects of
Hinduism, and as a celebration of his status as an incarnation of the Hindu god
Vishnu.

3. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 3/16
as seen across a pond
(now dry with grass growing)
As a sepulchre the temple was built facing west (the direction taken by the
dead in going to their next life, in Hindu belief), rather than facing east, which
was traditional for Hindu temples. Taking more than 30 years to build, the
layout of the complex was conceived as an architectural allegory of the Hindu
cosmology (world concept). At the center of the complex stands a temple
with five lotus-shaped towers, a larger central tower, and four smaller
surrounding towers.

4. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 4/16

5. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 5/16
detail
These represent the five peaks of Mount Meru—according to Hindu belief,
the mountain where the gods reside and from which all creation comes. The
central tower enclosure is surrounded by three square, terraced enclosures
that rise toward the central towers.

6. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 6/16
The series of terraces symbolizes the mountain ranges that in Hindu
cosmology surround the habitable world. The entire complex is surrounded by
a moat over 5 km in length, representing the primordial ocean, over which
extends an elaborate 475-m causeway, leading to the main of four gateways
into the temple complex.

7. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 7/16
The causeway was decorated on each side with carvings depicting the divine
serpents, known as nagas.

8. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 8/16
interior hallway with bas-reliefs
Angkor Wat is famous for having the longest running bas-relief in the world.
Beautifully crafted, many of the carvings were once painted and gilded. They
decorate the 2-m high, galleried walls having roofed walkways that run along
the inside of the protective moat, just outside of the temple complex itself.

9. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 9/16
The reliefs depict historical episodes in the life of King Suryavarman II;
scenes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata; the exploits
of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu with celestial nymphs known as apsarases;
and scenes from the daily life of the Khmer people at the time the complex
was built.

10. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 10/16
Some of Angkor Wat's bas-reliefs suffered damage at the height of
Cambodia's Khmer Rouge movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

11. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 11/16
head of Buddha
(this type of sculpture was often broken off
and sold by Khmer Rouge to support their efforts)

12. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 12/16
shrine next to reclining Buddha
Angkor Wat fell to the Cham army from northern Cambodia in 1177, after
which the complex proper began to fall into ruin. It was then reclaimed,
though not inhabited, by Khmer King Jayavarman VII when he defeated the
Chams soon after the beginning of his reign in 1181.

13. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 13/16
Both Angkor Wat and Angkor Thum, Jayavarman VII's royal city to the north,
were altered by subsequent inhabitants.
Photos of Angkor Thum
Pillaged by Thai invaders in the 15th century, they were expanded by later
rulers of Cambodia, some of whom replaced existing aspects altogether. In
the 1400s the Ângkôr area was abandoned as a political capital for reasons of
security and, after the Thai invasion of 1431, was not permanently inhabited
as a capital again.

14. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 14/16
Angkor Wat was intermittently inhabited by Buddhist monks, and about 1550
portions of its bas-reliefs were finally completed. It subsequently became a
destination for Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world.
restoration work by Indian technicians

15. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
www.galenfrysinger.com/angkor_wat.htm 15/16
(controversial because of some of the cleaning methods used)
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16. 6/28/13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Travel Photos byGalen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
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