Nile Sprague Online Journal: Angkor Wat, Cambodia
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Angkor WatAngkor Wat Photo GalleryThe temples of Angkor Wat are over 800 years old, resting in Northern Cambodia. They are one of the seven wonders of the world, an extensive collection of Hindu and Buddhist temples spread accross hundreds of kilometers. Angkor Wat is the name of the entire complex of temples, and the largest temple itself.
There are a few specific temples which left strong impressions in my mind. These are Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prom. Most temples receive ongoing restoration, but a few are left to the jungle, like Ta Prom. It is a charming and impressive temple with stone archways and stone covered rooms, piles of crumbling stone, and in many places the trees of the jungle are intertwined with the temple, growing right out of the rocks.
The Angkor Wat Temple is as tall as Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. As visitors walk towards the center they climb a series of stairs, each leading to a raised terrace ringed by stone covered hallways which contain a variety of decorations, including life-size stone Buddhas clothed in saffron robes. From the raised central courtyard, steep, crumbling stairs lead to the top level where cisterns collect rain water during the monsoon season. From the top the view is awesome, the series of terraces visible below, then a large green stretch of grass, an outer wall, and the jungle stretching beyond. Small pieces of neighboring temples are visible as the reach above the jungle. The lowest terrace of the temple is ringed by aproximatly two kilometers of bas relief carvings on the inner walls, showing historic battles, daily life, the gods, heaven, and hell. At one side of the temple you can find carvings depicting epic battles with the Thai and Cambodians fighting together against a common enemy. But on the carvings on the opposite side are from a later period and the enemy has changed: the carvings depict Thai and Cambodians fighting against one another.
The material used to construct all of the Angkor Temples is sandstone, but from many different sources. As a result the temples are different colors, sometimes light pink, yellow, or tan. Despite the softness of sandstone, the intricately detailed carvings have held incredibly during over 800 years of wheathering. I visited Angkor Wat in May of 2003 with Srey Sras and four English friends. I spent a total of a week in the nearby town, Siem Reap, during the day exploring the temples by foot, bicycle, and motorbike. I was quickly exhausted walking around in the intense heat and humidity. I usually rested from around 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM, and then moved slugishly until sunset around 6:30 PM. I found my photographic experience at Angkor very interesting. I was utterly overwhelmed by the amount of subject matter - having so many choices between the bas relief carvings, statues, temples, jungle plants, and people, I didn't know what to point my camera at. I shot five rolls of film (about 200 photos), but in the end I found I had duplicate shots of many things, and I had missed many other shots I wanted. Now I look forward to returning to the temples with a digital camera, and thus with the ability to immediatly review my work, and without the cost restraints of analog film. Who knows, I will probably take a thousand photographs when I go back. |
