Exploring Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the highlight of any visit to Angkor. A true Khmer architectural masterpiece, Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world. And also, the most photographed in all Cambodia. It is one of a large group of ancient ruins collectively called Angkor, which served as the seat of the Khmer empire from the 9th to the 15th century AD. There are over thirty ruins of considerable size in and around Angkor proper, of which Angkor Wat is the largest and most famous.

The name Angkor Wat is the modern Khmer name of the ruin, not its original name. It means "City Temple" or "Capital Temple", from the two words, "Angkor", which is the vernacular form of the word nokor, itself derived from the Sanskrit word nagara, meaning "capital", and "wat" which appears in Khmer and Thai meaning "temple". It is not know what is the original name of Angkor Wat. It was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of Suryavarman II, during the 14th and 15th century, when it was re-used as a Theravada Buddhist sanctuary. By the time the first Westerner set foot there, it was already known as Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat has been visited by Western explorers and missionaries as early as the 16th century. One of the first to arrive was Antonio da Magdalena, a Portuguese monk who reached Angkor in 1586. Nevertheless Angkor Wat remained largely unknown to the outside world until the publication of the travel notes of Henri Mouhot who visited and documented it in the mid 19th century. Mouhot is credited as being the person who brought the world's attention to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat was constructed during the reign of King Suryavarman II, who reigned from 1113 to 1150 AD. Work on Angkor Wat may have been interrupted or stopped when he died - the bas-reliefs in the Angkor Wat galleries show differing standards of quality, those of inferior quality may have been executed at a later time, long after the temple had been completed. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, Angkor Wat became a Theravada Buddhist monument some time around the 16th century, and earned the word "Wat" to its name. Construction of Angkor Wat probably began during the reign of Suryavarman II, and continue after his demise. The carving of the bas-reliefs continued long after Angkor Wat was constructed, although the later carvings were far inferior to those executed during Suryavarman II's reign. The whole project took 30 years to complete, rivalling in scale to the pyramids of Egypt. To appreciate the composition of Angkor Wat, it is necessary to recognize the repetitive elements of the architecture.

unlike almost all other Khmer ruins, Angkor Wat faces west instead of east. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Hinduism. Scholars believe that Angkor Wat may have been Suryavarman II's funerary temple, which would require a reverse orientation from the non-funerary temples. Further evidence comes from the bas-reliefs, which are arranged counter-clockwise around the temple rather than clockwise. Another theory put forward by scholars is that Angkor Wat was originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, who is associated with the west.

Angkor Wat is so ingeniously designed that one can only view all its five towers from special angels. It took me close to twenty minutes to make one full circle around it. I have visited Angkor Wat many times during my visits to Siem Reap, but I can't say I have fully explored it. There is just so much to cover that you just need to make a few trips to overcome fatigue.

The enormity of Angkor Wat is mind boggling. Consider these statistics: area occupied, 210 hectares; width of moat, 200 meters; height of tallest tower, 65 meters; the enclosure walls measures 5.5 kilometers! The area occupied by the temple itself measures 332 x 258 meters. That's nearly 9 hectares - the size of an airport terminal.

We would enter Angkor Wat from the west, unlike other Angkor temples which would be entered from the east. This gives the belief that Angkor Wat was originally built as a funerary temple by Suryavarman II for himself, as the elements associated with death is orientated in mirror image to the living. Few Angkor temples faces west, the notable include Phimai in northeast Thailand, which faces southeast, and Preah Vihear, which faces north. At Angkor itself, two of the temples at Preah Pithu as well as the Vishnu temple at Preah Khan face west.

Depending on what sort of photography you are looking for, the best times to visit Angkor Wat is at sunrise, at afternoon, and at sunset. There are two man-made lily ponds in front of Angkor Wat, of which the one on the left is bigger and offers a better view. During sunrise, you should position yourself somewhere in front of the left pond (where it can get very crowded). As the sun rises, try to get it between the prasats (towers).

Once the sun has risen high (9:00am - 10:00am), it's time to go inside Angkor Wat, as the grounds outside will start getting hot. If you have the patience to explore it systematically, then the way to do it is anti-clockwise beginning from the West Gallery. Scroll down to Exploring Inside Angkor Wat to explore the bas-reliefs.

As Angkor Wat faces west, it will be challenging trying to get a good shot of the front facade in the morning. You'd have better luck in the afternoon, preferably after 3:00pm, when the sun is on one side. Then you'd get the front of Angkor Wat illuminated, just like the photograph at the top of this page. It will be an added bonus, of course, if there's blue sky. Plan to visit Angkor Wat during the dry season, around January-March, for greater likelihood of blue skies.

For more information on Angkor Wat, visit also http://www.asiaexplorers.com/cambodia/angkor_wat.htm

Timothy Tye explores and documents the tourist attractions of the world. Visit his website at http://www.earthdocumentary.com and http://www.worldgreatestsites.com