The first rays of the morning sun shine down on the majestic temples at Angkor.
Sacred realm
Once the capital of many Khmer kingdoms from the late 9th to the 15th century, Angkor is considered by researchers to be the world 's first mega-city. The grandeur of the Khmer capital was recorded by a contemporary witness, Zhou Daguan, a scholar of the Yuan Dynasty, in the book "Chen La Phong Tho Ky" about his trip to Angkor in 1295: "Inside the city is a golden tower, surrounded by more than 20 stone towers, more than 100 stone houses, all facing the golden bridge to the east. On the left and right sides of the bridge are 2 golden lion statues, 8 golden Buddhas at the bottom of the stone houses... Merchant ships from all over the world came to praise "Phu Quy Chen La", referring to this place". The descriptions of the splendid capital compared with the present-day reality show that they are not exaggerated.
Tree roots cover Ta Prohm temple
Angkor is a Buddhist complex influenced by Hindu architecture, including Angkor Wat (the temple capital) and Angkor Thom (the great capital), along with more than 1,000 temples scattered around the area. Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century, has a nearly square rectangular plan and a geometrically perfect construction structure. Amidst an outer sandstone wall with a circumference of 3.6 km is a 3-storey temple complex with 5 towers, of which the central tower is 65 m high, symbolizing the sacred Mount Sumeru in Hinduism and Buddhism. To reach the top floor of the Angkor Wat complex, visitors must climb steps with an unusual slope of up to 45 degrees. The caution in each step up and down seems to increase the overwhelming feeling of the majesty of a sacred realm in contrast to the mundaneness of human life.
Smile of silence
If Angkor Wat has reached a classic level in shape and has become a national symbol, appearing on the national flag, then Angkor Thom with the Bayon temple at its center is the pinnacle of artistic spirit when the remaining 54 towers are carved with 216 giant faces, all with a peaceful look and a natural smile. Also with a gradually rising structure towards the center, seen from afar, the temple looks like a silent gathering of giants in the middle of the jungle.
That is only half of the journey to explore Angkor, when there is still a vast area of ruins of the Elephant Courtyard, the Leper King Courtyard, the Baphuon Temple - once considered the Forbidden City, the king's residence, and dozens of other relics showing off their splendor even though there are only traces of a row of giant elephant statues, or rows of statues embracing the Naga snake god on both sides of the entrance gate... Outside the Angkor Thom citadel wall are other famous temples that have been rediscovered since Cambodia opened its doors to tourism , in which Ta Phrom and Preah Khan are special because after centuries of being forgotten, they have been overgrown by giant cotton trees and tropical banyan trees, many of their roots look like giant pythons squeezing the stone structures. They became a spectacular scene in the fantasy adventure film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider starring Hollywood star Angelina Jolie in 2001.
Stone sculpture of Apsara dancer
Oh dance or country shape
But the most beautiful beauty of Angkor is the statues and carvings of Apsara dancers. Everywhere from the walls of the corridors to the narrow spaces between the Bayon stone towers, people can see carved stories, such as the 2.5m high painting, stretching over 800m, the longest hand-carved stone painting in the world, depicting stories from the Brahmanical classics, the exploits of King Suryavarman II as well as countless stories from the classic Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana.
“ Apsara, oh dance, oh the shape of the country! ” (quoted from the song Anh linh tung ngua va dieu Apsara by musician Minh Quang). Indeed, 1,700 Apsara dancers in famous dance poses, with charming faces and perfect bare breasts, soften the roughness of the stone and the solemn melancholy. Meanwhile, Banteay Srei temple (temple of the ladies) 25km north of Angkor Thom is unique because of the femininity of the red sandstone sculptures. The rare red stone color is different from the blue, yellow and gray stones of the majority of the complex, as well as the dancers and dense vine patterns, creating an attraction in the internal “competition” of the 45 relic clusters of Angkor.
Continuing 14km towards the sacred Kulen mountain is the Kbal Spean stream with thousands of lingas carved in 1050, containing the ancient Khmer belief that bathing in this stream will bring good health and many children. Visitors will not be surprised when discovering the boundless creations of the owner of the civilization that was forgotten and then gloriously reappeared like a rebirth.
Returning to the lovely city of Siem Reap, amidst the bustle of a modern global tourist stop, lovers of the past can still imagine the sunset shining on the smiling faces of the Bayon tower following the river flowing between streets bearing the familiar mark of colonial architecture.
Source: https://heritagevietnamairlines.com/nhung-thap-da-mim-cuoi/
Comment (0)