Sunday, October 11, 2015

Siem Reap 3

Siem Reap 3 (link, enlace, lien)
The third day we started our visit accessing the Angkor grounds through the impressive bridge with the sacred Naga balustrade (the multi-headed cobra, water and tutelary deity in Hinduism and Buddhism) still protecting the entrance. 

The impressive Preach Khan ensemble was more than a temple, it also was a Buddhist university, with over 1000 teachers. Built in the 12th  century in the Bayon Style, we can see well preserved friezes showing Apsaras (beautiful female deities) and sitting gods. In the wall, a massive Garuda, the winged mount of the Lord Vishnu. The following temples were also built in the 12th , in the same style. We started  to note the damages caused by a tropical tree, called the “strangling fig” (Ficus Aurea), that grows on the stones, their strong roots destroy the walls and columns. In the afternoon we did a short cruise in the Tonle Sap lake, a large natural reservoir that regulates the Mekong River water level.

Siem Reap 3 (link, enlace, lien)

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