Lolei

Lolei, the northernmost Roluos Group temple an almost exact replica of the towers of Preah Ko were built on an islet in the centre of a large reservoir by Yasovarman I, the founder of the first city at Angkor.

Lolei was the last of the three temples to be built after Preah Ko and Bakong as part of the city of Hariharalaya that once flourished at Roluos in 893. Lolei is thought to be a modern corruption of the ancient name ‘Hariharalaya’ which means ‘the city of Harihara’.

The sandstone carvings in the niches of the temples are worth a look and there are Sanskrit inscriptions on the doorposts. According to one of the inscriptions, the four towers were dedicated by Yasovarman I to his mother, his father and his maternal grandparents on 12 July 893.