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    Sophia Tep:  (571) 422-7972
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Bayon/Angkor Thom Temple

Bayon/Angkor Thom Temple


Overview

Gates

Bayon

 
Overview

Angkor Thom is quadrangle of defensive walls once protected the Khmer capital of the same name (Angkor Thom means "Great City"). Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries by King Jayavarman VII, the walls are divided by two axes running north-south and east-west. The enclosing squared walls are 8 meters high and 3 kilometers long each side, covering an area of 9 square kilometers. Angkor Thom is located in present Cambodia about 7 Km north of Siem Reap and about 1.7 km north of entrance to the famous Angkor Wat.

Within the vicinity of the Great City, several temples were built during King Jayavarman VII reign. Bayon temple located at the center and was dedicated t as a state temple. Bayon temple consisted on many gigantic four-face statutes that many archeological scholars believe they resemble the face of King Jayavarman VII.

Angkor Thom was established as the capital of the Khmer Empire, though there is no evidence that it is the first one. There was a city, Yasodharapura, built three centuries earlier, located slightly northwest overlapping part of Angkor Thom. Evidences suggest that temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas are the state temples and were incorporated into the Royal Palace. Furthermore, there is evidence in a 14th century inscription that the Khmer continued to refer its Capital as Yasodharapura until 16th century when they started mentioning about Angkor Thom. Understandably, King Jayavarman VII must have moved the Capital to Angkor Thom because the area was more strategically defensive against invaders. It was built after a surprise sacking of Angkor by the Chams and King Jayavarman VII determined that the Khmer Empire never again suffered a defeat. Beside the fortified squared walls, known as jayagiri, the city was surrounded by a massive moat housed with alligators that would stop the hardest invaders.

Gates

A gateway lies at the end of each axis, four in total, facing the four cardinal directions. An additional gate, called the "Gate of Victory", pierces the east wall just north of the "Gate of the Dead", the east gate along the central axis. The significance of the additional gate is that it provided access to a terrace of the royal palace. As for the other gates, the two axes intersect at the center of the enclosed area where the Bayon Temple sits. The south gate of Angkor Thom is the best preserved. It is approached from outside via a causeway that extends about fifty meters across a moat.

On each side of the causeway are railings fashioned with 54 stone figures engaged in the performance of a famous Hindu story: the myth of the Churning of the Ocean. On the left side of the moat, 54 'devas' (guardian gods) pull the head of the snake 'Shesha' while on the right side 54 'asuras' (demon gods) pull the snake's tail in the opposite direction. In this myth, the body of the snake is wrapped around the central mountain 'Mt. Meru 'perhaps corresponding here to the Bayon temple at the center of the site. In any case, the myth relates that as the Devas pulled the snake in one direction and the gods pushed in the other, the ocean began to churn and precipitate the elements. By alternating back and forth, the ocean was "milked", forming the earth and the cosmos anew.

 

You Can Help

All donations are tax-deductible to the extent of the law. A financial statement is available upon written request from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer services, Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs.

 

 

Communities

VOA News Coverage - CCD 2012 (click on pictures)

Voice of America/Khmer: Dr Chanthourn Thuy

A Khmer Archaeologist visited USA in July 2012 to present his research finding about ancient iron smelter in Cambodia to Cambodian-American communities. One of his stop was Washington, DC Metro area. 


 

Voice of America Interviewed Ms Sophia Tep, CCD Vice-President

Click the picture to read and play the video.


Sam Relief Dec 2012 Newsletter

Sam Relief was very busy in early April of 2012 and has delivered another 10 tons of rice to Angkor Children Hospital at Siem Reap.


Women's Health Study: http://mapa.nur.utexas.edu


Replica of Angkor Wat

We have bought a replica of Angkor Wat (picture shown above). It is a sculpture made out from stone, by a sculptor in Pursat province, Cambodia. It is 1.3 meter long, 1.1 meter wide and .35 meter high. It took more than 2 months to complete the sculpture. Click the picture to enlarge.


Phare Ponleu Selpak

Phare Ponleu Selpak (website: www.phareps.org) is a Cambodian association providing artistic activities to children and adults around the Battambang vicinity. The artistic fields are: performing arts (circus, theater, dancing, music), visual arts (cartoon animation, painting contemporary, illustration and graphic design) and social actions (governmental school pre-school through high school, child care center, and transitional youth house). Learn more ...

Khmer Music Festival

Thank you for coming to our Khmer Music Festival on Saturday September 5th 2015

Click here to see photo gallery.

2015 Miss Cambodian American DC

Our social profiles

Talented Cambodians

Worldwide Perspectives

CCD Nurtures friendship building and community networking and unifies all people of all walks of life.