Khmer (高棉) or Cambodia (柬埔寨) 4

Day 4 Stop 1 Bayon Temple

Day 4 of our trip is the most dramatic. We visited first a temple with 216 most serene faces, the Bayon Temple, followed by a visit to the Cambodian War Museum, with the most lethal weapons: fighter planes, tanks, artillery and land mines.

When we arrived at the car park, we were offered a choice: an elephant back ride. None of the tour members dared.

The way to the Bayon Temple was studded with various heads on both sides of the naga bridge: the good on the left, the evil on the right.

The entrance to the temple

We get a glimpse of what we would see even on the left hand side of the bridge: the heads of smiling statues. The nose of the right is broken

Another one. Note that their headgear is the same

part of the faces are marked by white lichen

The nose and ear of this one are damaged.

A visible crack on the side of the face of this one. His ear is very long indeed.

How serene he looks

This is probably the figure of one of the asuras

Another of the better preserved asuras

Behind the asuras is a river

A global view of the group of Khmer Bayon temples, built in the late 12th century and early 13th century by King Jayavarman VII as the official Mahayana Buddhist Temple of the king at the center of his capital Angkor Thom, the last of the temple to be built along with the temples of Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid-13th century, the Khmer
empire reverted to Hinduism and its state temple was altered
accordingly. But it was also modified and expanded by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with  their religious preferences.Thus the temple also featured a number of Hindu and local deities representing various provinces and cities of the kingdom. It is built in what has been called the "baroque" instead of the "classical" architectural style of Angkor Wat. The libraries in the east, the square corners of the inner gallery, and parts of the upper terrace are later additions. The temple is oriented towards the east, and so its buildings are set
back to the west inside enclosures elongated along the east-west axis.
Because the temple sits at the exact centre of Angkor Thom, roads lead
to it directly from the gates at each of the city's cardinal points. The
temple itself has no wall or moats, these being replaced by those of
the city itself: the city-temple arrangement, with an area of 9 square
kilometres, is much larger than that of Angkor Wat to the south (2 km²).
Within the temple itself, there are two galleried enclosures (the third
and second enclosures) and an upper terrace (the first enclosure). All
of these elements are crowded against each other with little space
between. Unlike Angkor Wat, which impresses with the grand scale of its
architecture and open spaces, the Bayon "gives the impression of being
compressed within a frame which is too tight for it.

The central face at the entrance to the temple with reliefs of the two other faces at each side.Some scholars say that the faces are those of the King Javavarman VII
himself whilst other say that they are those of  the bodhisattva of
compassion called
Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara. But there's a tradition that the Buddhist
Khmer kings thought  of themselves as "devaraja"  (god-king) or Buddha's
representative on earth.But there is one difference: whilst his Hindu
predecessors regarded themselves as consubstantial with Shiva and his
symbol the
lingam, Jayavarman as a Buddhist identified himself with the Buddha and
the bodhisattva.

The various temples are groups like so many little towers with one central tower, the whole looking like one sitting Buddha

The face in the middle is located what appears to be back of the giant Buddha. built by stone slabs piled one next to or on top of each other, like a giant lego structure

Some dancing figures on top of lotus flower upon columns lining the steps on the way up

More dancing figures

Three dancing figures

Similar dancing figures in slightly different postures

These figures seem to have been given a bath

Tourists going up to the highest tier

The highest tier has a number of subsdiary/auxiliary/side temples each with four faces. On top of each sits a giant lotus flower

A close up of the same face

This is another head of the Buddha, more like a woman than a man

This one seems to be resting



Another one with eyes open.. We can see that the lines of cut are different

This one seems to be deeply in thought



This one has a broken nose

This is the most famous head of the smiling Buddha at the heart of the temple

On top of the entrance of some of the temples are tiny buddha figurines

The walls of the temple are often fitted with these bas relief figures

These figures also have expressions of calmness and quiet joy

The smile on the Buddha's face may be infectious

Elvis Presley resurrected by the Buddha in Cambodia?

Many parts of the temple like others have fallen down and the temple grounds are full of the individual stone "bricks" used for building the temple

 a view of one side of the temple

A view of the temple from the side

The temple looks like so many limestone hills

When we walk along the corridors and passages inside the temple we often find fallen pieces between walls and pillars

There is an interesting play of light inside many of the corridors

A photographer talking to a guide

A child and a Buddha. Is Buddha's mind like that of a child?