Localisation

Angkor Central  (Look map "Angkor complex")

Style

Late Angkorian Period (except some older monuments like the Baphuon)

Construction - Inauguration

End of 12th Century and later

Initiator

Jayavarman VII

Visit

une seule visite est rarement suffisante pour appréhender l’ensemble des monuments qui se trouvent dans la ville d’Angkor Thom dont principalement l’entourage de la place Royale et le Bayon

Caracteristics

One visit is not sufficient to grasp the monuments which are in the city of Angkor Thom, of which the Royal Enclosure and the Bayon.
• The city, encircled by walls and by a moat of 100 meters, extending some 9 sq. km, constituted a considerable fortified city.
• The city is is the materialisation of the Hinduist cosmology and the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, which produced the immortality liqueur.
• Every road of the town converge towards the state temple of Jayavarman VII, the Bayon.
• The fortified city of Angkor Thom probably remained the Khmer capital after the decline of the empire and until the 17e century.

Comments

• You will surely be impressed by the 54 Assuras (demons) holding the Nâga snakes in their arms as well as by the monumental southern gate, decorated on either side of the passageway with four gargantuan faces.
• The hot hours between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm have to be avoided for the following reasons :
- The stones reflect light and heath
- The crowd is much more important