Beng Mealea - Lost Temple in the Jungle

Beng Mealea was built in the Angkor style and is located about 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor in Cambodia. It was built as a Hindu temple, but there are some carvings depicting buddhist motifs. Its primary material is sandstone and it is largely unrestored, with trees and thick brush thriving amidst its towers and courtyards and many of its stones lying in great heaps. For years it was difficult to reach, but a road recently built to the temple complex of Koh Ker passes Beng Mealea and more visitors are coming to the site, as it is 77 km from Siem Reap by road.

Like Ta Phrom the Beng Mealea temple has been overgrown extensively by the jungle but unlike Ta Phrom you can explore this temple without the many tourists you get at Ta Phrom and the other Angkor temples. 

The history of the temple is unknown and it can be dated only by its architectural style, identical to Angkor Wat, so scholars assumed it was built during the reign of king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century. Smaller in size than Angkor Wat, the king's main monument, Beng Mealea nonetheless ranks among the Khmer empire's larger temples: the gallery which forms the outer enclosure of the temple is 181 m by 152 m. It was the center of a town, surrounded by a moat 1025 m by 875 m large and 45 m wide.

Beng Mealea is oriented toward the east, but has entranceways from the other three cardinal directions. The basic layout is three enclosing galleries around a central sanctuary, collapsed at present. The enclosures are tied with "cruciform cloisters", like Angkor Wat. Structures known as libraries lie to the right and left of the avenue that leads in from the east. There is extensive carving of scenes from Hindu mythology, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda. Causeways have long balustrades formed by bodies of the seven-headed Naga serpent.

It was built mostly of sandstone: Beng Mealea is only 7 km far from the angkorian sandstone quarries of Phnom Kulen, as the crow flies. Presumably sandstone blocks used for Angkor were transported along artificial water canals and passed from here. Despite of lack of information, the quality of architecture and decorations has drawn the attention of French scholars just from its discovery.

Kbal Spean - "The River of a Thousand Lingas"

On the slopes of the Kulen Hills in north east Cambodia and around 25km from the main temples at Angkor lies an archeological site consisting stone carvings in the sandstone formations of the river bed and banks known as Kbal Spean ("Bridge Head" in Khmer). It is also known as "The River of a Thousand Lingas" which are the stone carved bumps and is the phallic symbol of the Hindu god Shiva.  It is believed that the Siem Reap River flowing into Angkor is blessed by the sacred lingas over which it flows. There are also many different mythological motifs carved in the rocks including the depiction of gods Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshimi, Rama and Hanuman as well as cows, frogs and crocodiles.

The archeological site was discovered in 1969 by the ethologist Jean Boulbet but further exploration of the site was curtailed due to the Cambodian Civil War until 1989 when the site was safe to visit.

The carvings were started during the reign of King Suryavarman I and ended with the reign of King Udayadityavarman II, these two kings ruling between the 11th and 12th centuries.. The 1,000 lingas were attributed to a minister of Suryavarman I during the 11th century and these were carved by hermits living in the area.

The sculptures carved in the river bed and banks depict many Hindu mythological scenes and symbols and when the water level decreases there are also inscriptions which get exposed. The common theme of these sculptures is about creation as defined in Hindu mythology with Lord Vishnu lying on a serpent in a reclining pose on the ocean of milk, the lotus flower emerging from Vishnu's navel which bears the god Brahma, the creator.

Angkor Thom, West Gate.

The West Gate of Angkor Thom is probably the least used gate of the Angkor Thom complex in Cambodia but well worth the visit. I had my tuk-tuk driver drop me at the South gate then walked the 3km along the path to the West Gate which was a wonderful walk and a great way to arrive at the West Gate. As I approached the West Gate along the wooded path the large carved stone heads of the gate eventually came into view through the trees. It was late afternoon and with the soft, diffused light reflecting off the stone edifices this created an almost mythical, fantasy world into which I had arrived.

Preah Rup

Preah Rup is a temple at  Angkor, Cambodia built as the state temple of Khmer king Rajendravarman and dedicated in 961 or early 962. It is a temple mountain of combined brick, laterite and sandstone construction.

The temple’s name is a comparatively modern one meaning "turn the body". This reflects the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed.

Located just south of the East Baray, or eastern reservoir, Preah Rup is aligned on a north-south axis with the East Mebon temple, which is located on what was an artificial island in the baray. The East Mebon was also a creation of the reign of Rajendravarman.

Preah Rup's extensive laterite and brick give it a pleasing reddish tone that is heightened by early morning and late afternoon sunlight. The temple has a square lay-out and two perimeter walls. The outer enclosure is a platform bounded by a laterite wall, 117 meters N-S by 127 meters E-W. A laterite causeway gives entry from the east; unfortunately, a modern road cuts across it. The four external gopuras are cross-shaped, having a central brick section (consisting of three rooms flanked by two independent passageways) and a sandstone vestibule on both sides. To either side inside the eastern gate is a group of three towers aligned north to south. One of the towers appears to have never been built or to have been dismantled later, however they are later additions, probably by Jayavarman V. Further ahead, through another gate, libraries lie to either side of the walkway on the second platform. Just before the entrance there is a stone "cistern", but scholars believe it was a basement for a Nandi bronze statue rather than being used for cremation ceremonies.

There is also a series of long distinct galleries running along each side, a distinctive feature of 10th century architecture that would be substituted by a continuous gallery from Ta Keo onward. The final squared pyramid, measuring 50 m at its base, rises in three steep tiers a dozen metres in height to a 35 m square platform at the summit. The lowest tier is symmetrically surrounded by 12 small shrines. At the top, five towers are arranged in a quincunx, one at each corner of the square and one in the centre. Deities carved as bas-reliefs stand guard at either side of the central tower’s eastern door; its other doors are false doors. The southwest tower once contained a statue of Lakshmi the northwest tower a statue of Uma, the southeast tower a statue of Vishnu and the northeast tower a statue of Shiva. The last one has an inscription on door jambs that dates from Jayavarman V and is the only proof of his reign at Angkor.

Preah Rup was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and it is probably located on a former shivaite ashram built by Yasovarman I in the previous century. Perhaps it was standing at the centre of a new capital city built by Rajendravarman, with the southern dike of East Baray as northern city limit, but nothing of the dwellings survived and this "eastern city hypothesis" by Philippe Stern was never confirmed by archeological discoveries.