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120<br />
SIEM REAP<br />
6<br />
SIEM REAP ATTRACTIONS<br />
point. Outside, you’ll find an image <strong>of</strong> the guardian <strong>of</strong> hell because the area site was a<br />
crematorium. <strong>The</strong> top <strong>of</strong> the terrace is a statue <strong>of</strong> the king with leprosy (a copy <strong>of</strong> the<br />
original). <strong>The</strong> long terrace is made <strong>of</strong> two walls and visitors pass through a shaded walkway<br />
on the interior. <strong>The</strong> whole site is lined with rich relief carving and has been lovingly<br />
restored and propped up with a new concrete wall that maintains the integrity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
original. Note: <strong>The</strong>re are portable toilets at the far north end <strong>of</strong> the Terrace <strong>of</strong> the Leper<br />
King.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Elephant Terrace This terrace is the south end (near the Bayon) <strong>of</strong> a long performance<br />
terrace <strong>of</strong> the king, so named because <strong>of</strong> its elaborate reliefs <strong>of</strong> elephants, whose<br />
trunks make decorative columns. <strong>The</strong> long concourse (about 350m/1,148 ft.) depicts<br />
scenes <strong>of</strong> circus acrobats, wrestlers, and images <strong>of</strong> hunting elephants in the wild.<br />
Preah Khan Built by Jayavarman VII in 1191, the name <strong>of</strong> the temple means “Sacred<br />
Sword.” It’s rumored that this was where Jayavarman called home during the building <strong>of</strong><br />
the Bayon. You approach the Preah Khan through a walkway lined with low lantern towers<br />
(note that the Buddhist reliefs were changed to divine vultures during the iconoclastic<br />
period). <strong>The</strong> compound is surrounded by wall and moat. <strong>The</strong> moat represents the ocean,<br />
the wall is a mountain, and the temple is Mount Meru—the mother mountain <strong>of</strong> Hindu<br />
creation. Four gates face the ordinal directions, and each gate has a God and Demon<br />
statue like entry to Angkor Thom but just a tower, no Apsara face. Stop in at the small<br />
visitor center for information about preservation. <strong>The</strong> temple is a monastery, like Ta<br />
Prohm and Banteay Kdei, and is thought to have been built in homage to Jayavarman’s<br />
father. <strong>The</strong> site plan is much like Ta Prohm. <strong>The</strong> temple passage has lots <strong>of</strong> meandering<br />
galleries and side rooms with statues (most broken or missing) and Shiva Lingam. Many<br />
Buddha reliefs here have been chiseled <strong>of</strong>f. Interior walls are lined with cross-legged,<br />
bearded forest hermits in relief. <strong>The</strong> central tower is a stupa for ashes <strong>of</strong> a later king, dating<br />
from the 16th century and replacing a large Buddha statue <strong>of</strong> Jayavarman VII that<br />
was found by the French in 1943, then summarily lost. <strong>The</strong> many empty pedestals and<br />
lintels are courtesy <strong>of</strong> the Khmer Rouge and many tomb raiders.<br />
“Get High” at Angkor<br />
Like many <strong>of</strong> the world’s great monuments, the temples <strong>of</strong> Angkor are laid out<br />
over massive spaces, with miles <strong>of</strong> temple wall on the side <strong>of</strong> each temple, as if<br />
a sign to the gods. Visitors approaching temples on foot experience the temple<br />
like Khmers <strong>of</strong> the Angkor period would have, in procession from one side to<br />
the other, but we see only one section <strong>of</strong> the main gate, for example, or experience<br />
only the inner sanctum <strong>of</strong> the temples without being able to see the<br />
whole. It is important to remember that the Angkor temples were each selfcontained<br />
cities or large monasteries, with populations in the hundreds <strong>of</strong><br />
thousands. Now choked with jungle, these wider areas are best appreciated<br />
from above, where the scope <strong>of</strong> the building at Angkor is best understood. <strong>The</strong><br />
rule is that there’s a 1km (half-mile) “no fly” radius around the temple compound,<br />
and the tour operators know just where that is and can take you as<br />
close as they are allowed.