There are two great complexes of ancient temples in Southeast Asia, one at Bagan in Burma, the other at Angkor in Cambodia. The temples of Angkor, built by the Khmer civilization between 802 and 1220 AD, represent one of humankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag.
The structures one sees at Angkor today, more than 100 stone temples in all, are the surviving remains of a grand religious, social and administrative metropolis whose other buildings ( palaces, public buildings, and houses ) were built of wood and are long since decayed and gone.


Angkor Wat, built during the early years of the 12th century by Suryavaram II, honors the Hindu god Vishnu and is a symbolic representation of Hindu cosmology.
The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. Many world organisations are working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. An organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005.


The Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom.
Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences. The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The main current conservatory body, the JSA, has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the 'baroque' style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the 'classical' style of Angkor Wat.
One of the last temples built in Angkor, Bayon is one of the few Buddhist temples in Angkor. Most are dedicated to Hindu dieties. Over 200 large faces adorn the 54 towers at Bayon.
Bayon is best seen during early morning, as sunrise creates an eerie effect on the many faces. But the many bas-reliefs need the light of afternoon to examine. Unlike Angkor, the reliefs in Bayon are meant to be viewed from left to right.
The temple has three levels. The lower two are lined with bas-reliefs. The third includes a central sanctuary. This makes the temple sound simple; it is in fact a maze of walkways and galleries that make it difficult for visitors to discern the three levels. Many of the bas-reliefs at Bayon contain scenes from everyday life.
Jayavarman VIII took the Khmer throne after a three or four year hiatus on the part of the royal family. In 1177 the Chams sacked Angkor in a suprise attack. In 1181, Jayavarman VII restored to the throne the royal line founded by Jayavarman VI a century earlier. He proved to be a religious inovator and a prolific builder.
While Jayavarman continued to tolerate the worship of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu, he made Mahayana Buddhism the primary religion of Angkor for the first time. And the Bayon Temple became his state temple. He also built the temples of Prah Kahn, which is dedicated to his father, and Ta Prohm, which is dedicated to his mother. Jayavarman was also responsible for the construction of roads and bridges throughout the kings, and of hospital, something which later led historians to speculate about his own health.
When Chou Ta-Kuan visited Angkor in 1297-98, Bayon's towers were covered in gold. The gold was stripped by later conquorers. And while Angkor Wat was kept from the ravages of the jungle by Buddhist monks, Bayon was left to the devices of nature.


Phimeanakas ('celestial temple') at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu temple in the Khleang style, built at the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Rajendravarman II (from 941-968), then rebuilt by Suryavarman II in the shape of a three tier pyramid as a Hindu temple. On top of the pyramid there was a tower.


Preah Palilay is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia. It is located in Angkor Thom, 400 m north of Phimeanakas. Built in the 13th or 14th century, it is a Buddhist temple (although with some Hindu imagery) in the Bayon style. Its most distinctive feature is its chimney-shaped tower.
It is still well preserved. There are two dvarapalas or guardians, now decapitated, and one crouching lion, of an original two, at its entrance.


Preah Khan is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions.


Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples.


Banteay Srei is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Located in the area of Angkor in Cambodia, it belongs to the medieval capitals of Yasodharapura and Angkor Thom. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. It is praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art".


Copyright Jean-Marc Michel. Use of any image is strictly forbidden without my explicit written permission.

The images on the site are available for sale as fine art prints and also as stock images.
For more information please contact me at jeanmarcmichelmy@yahoo.fr