Angkor Thom is the name given to the capital city constructed by King Jayavarman VII (xii - xiii c.). The city is a 3 km square enclosed by a moat and 8m high laterite walls. Five monumental gates surmounted by a tower with four giant faces give access to the city were the moat is crossed by bridges, flanked by 54 demons and 54 gods holding the
famous naga balustrade.
The Bayon temple is located in the centre of the city, just north there is the
Royal Palace and its temples: the Baphuon and Phimeanakas, to the east the
Prasats Suor Prat and the Kleangs. The royal square is defined by the
Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. To the north the other monuments
Tep Pranam and Prah Palilay.
The symbolism underlying the design of Angkor Thom has been variously interpreted: a representation of Cosmos with Mount Meru in the centre, the moat symbolizing the oceans around it and the walls the encircling mountain ranges; the naga balustrade a symbol of the rainbow as the bridge
that links the world of humans with that of the gods; a representation of the Indra’s capital dominated by Mount Meru, was Indra who cast out the asuras
(demons) from heaven with garuda permanently guarding against any future attacks. These defences are represented in the
monumental gates by the faces of the king guarding each cardinal point and Indra himself riding his three-headed elephant and holding a thunderbolt.
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The monumental gates
Five massive gateways correspond to the causeways that cross the external moat. All the gates are similar, with 54 devas and 54 asuras holding the serpent that forms the balustrade of the bridge, a metaphor of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The grimacing faces of the demons of
the South Gate are particularly expressive in sharp contrast to the serene faces of the gods. The main tower, with faces in the Bayon style, is flanked by two other smaller towers, at the base Indra holding a thunderbolt and riding the three-headed elephant. The east gate is also called
the Victory Gate.
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The Royal Square
The terrace of the Elephants with its walls and stairways sculpted with lions and garudas “as atlantes”
lines the square. Elephant heads with trunks forming pillars; high reliefs of elephants mounted with drivers, represented in profile and almost full in size, depicted in hunting scenes.
To the north the Terrace of the Leper King, a sandstone bastion entirely sculpted with
bas reliefs. Behind the outer walls, a second system of walls, also sculpted in bas-reliefs and identical in composition - the two metres void between them used to be filled with laterite, now removed
by the restorers. Both the internal and external bas-reliefs show lines of seated figures: Naga, Garudas which haunt the flanks of Mount Meru shown with sword or club bearers, and women with bare torsos in the Bayon style.
On the top of the terrace, the uninspired statue of the 'Leper King' sits entirely naked in the Javanese posture, with his right knee raised.
North of the Terrace of the Leper King, one can see Tep Pranam, a typical Buddhist terrace with naga balustrades and lions in the Bayon style. An enormous Buddha, sitting in the
bhumisparsa-mudra 'calling the earth to witness' is housed in a modern wooden structure. Just to the west another large reconstructed standing Buddha, in the “absence of fear” gesture.
Towards the north-west of Tep Pranam, after 150m, a cruciform terrace with multi-headed nagas, leads to
Prah Palilay. Surrounded by the soaring silk-cotton trees only the sandstone central tower remains. The presence of monks nearby the temple gives it the feeling of an active place of worship.
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The Royal Palace Enclosure
Phimeanakas appears as a rectangular pyramid with three diminishing tiers and steep stairways with lions. Small elephants ornate the corners.
From the Terrace of the Elephants a sandstone causeway, a sort of bridge, leads to
Baphuon temple. Formed by a high five tiered pyramid, the temple that appears today as a crumbling structure would have been the most imposing of Angkor. Now it is only a big three dimensional puzzle left after the anastylosis was interrupted by the last khmer war, at the time of our visit the temple was closed to the public.
On the eastern side of the royal square the twelve laterite towers called Prasats Suor Prat. Their exact use remains a mystery, with only some decorations in the frontons. Just behind, against the jungle background, the remains of the north and south
Kleang, two sandstone buildings in same style of Ta Keo.
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Preah Pithu is a group of five small temples and terraces located at the northern end of the Royal Square, they are in an advance state of disrepair although some decorations are still remaining.
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