Bayon Temple in Cambodia: photo and description, general information

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

In the south of the Hindustan Peninsula in Asia, there is an incredibly beautiful kingdom with an impressive mysterious history - Cambodia. For a long time this exotic country was closed to tourists. Today, tours to Cambodia have become very popular. Tourists from all over the world seek to visit this kingdom in order to enjoy the mild climate, warm sea and beaches with white sand, untouched wonderful nature and, most importantly, to see the ancient shrines of these places with a mysterious and thousand-year history: majestic temple structures, striking in their scope, majesty and uniqueness. One of these religious buildings is the Bayon Temple (description and photos are presented in the article), located in the very center of the Angkor Thom temple complex.

General information

Bayon is an ancient temple complex in the middle of the ruins of the historic city of Angkor Thom, the ancient capital of the Khmer indigenous people. The Bayon Temple at Angkor is one of thethe main attractions of Cambodia, stunning the imagination of not only local residents, but also tourists from all over the world. It, like the Hindu temple complex Angkor Wat, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Angkor is a region of the Kingdom of Cambodia that was the center of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th century AD. Today, the ruins of numerous temples and structures have survived, including unique monuments of Khmer art - Angkor Wat and Anghor Thom.

The historical complex of Angkor Thom is divided by axes into four parts, which symbolizes a reduced copy of the Universe. The bayon is located right in the center, at the intersection of the axes, personifying the link between heaven and earth.

It is believed that the Bayon Temple was built in the late XII - early XIII century in honor of the ruler of the Khmer Empire Jayavarman VII (1125-1218 AD). It was during his reign that the Khmer Empire reached the peak of its power, many magnificent temples and public buildings were built. In addition, the king drove out the Cham invaders who were ruining Cambodia and united the country. Jayavarman VII became the first Buddhist king, which was reflected in the construction of temples.

During the heyday of the Khmer Empire, Bayon was its religious center, and all subsequent rulers rebuilt this temple complex at their discretion. The modern restoration of structures that have not been destroyed for centuries began in the 20s of the XX century.

Discovery history

Unfortunately, nowadays the temple complexBayon has not been preserved in its original form. It has been rebuilt and rebuilt several times. In the second half of the 15th century, after a long siege by the Siamese, the capital of the Khmer Empire fell, was destroyed and abandoned. The dense jungle swallowed up Angkor, hiding high towers, temples and other buildings. The roads disappeared, the living quarters also did not survive - time and the humid climate did not spare them. Fortunately, the temple structures have survived to this day, presenting an amazing sight.

Lost in the jungle, the ruined ancient Angkor was safely hidden from view by vegetation, and for 4 centuries people forgot about it. It was accidentally discovered in 1860 by the French traveler Henri Muo, who got lost in the jungle.

However, the original age of the Bayon temple was incorrectly determined - the 9th century AD. It was attributed to Buddhist temples a little later, at the beginning of the 20th century, after the discovery of the face of the Buddhist deity of compassion. As a result, Bayon was dated to the end of the 12th century. Despite fairly reliable archaeological evidence, not all the mysteries of Bayon have been solved.

Bas-reliefs on the walls of Bayon quite authentically capture the life of medieval Cambodia. They are considered authentic historical evidence, giving an idea of the medieval Khmers, their military and peaceful life, way of life, gods. There are many scenes of battles with Chams, worship of the gods is presented separately.

Features of the architectural structure

The temple managed to save itself from destruction quite well. It was built mainly from stone blocks by hundreds and thousands of people. All elementstemples are in harmony with each other. The specificity of the Bayon also lies in the fact that a protective wall was not built around it - such was the wall enclosing the city of Angkor Thom itself.

Not all the secrets of the Bayon temple in Cambodia have been unraveled. One of these mysteries is that the buildings of the temple complex were erected using an unknown technology without the use of binding materials (such as cement) - the usual laying of stone on stone. Therefore, from afar, all this seems like a pile of stones, and close up you can see an amazing structure. The grooves are very precisely and firmly connected - so that it is impossible to stick the edge of the knife. At the same time, the buildings did not fall apart for centuries. The scientific minds of our time cannot understand how the ancient Khmers managed to make these grooves, calculate with amazing accuracy the details of such colossal structures.

What is the temple

Studying general information about the Bayon temple, it can be noted that it is the second most popular among tourists in Cambodia. Bayon's calling card is stone towers with carved faces, as well as unique bas-reliefs.

From a distance, the structure resembles an intricate natural heap of bizarre stone blocks. But you can clearly see it up close.man-made origin. Bayon area is impressive: 9 square kilometers.

The temple complex delights with its splendor and unusualness, designed to glorify the Buddha and his deeds. However, the Bayon temple, built in the spirit of Buddhism, also has some features of Hinduism.

The temple complex resembles a pyramid or "temple mount", consisting of three decreasing tiers. The largest, lower tier is surrounded by a stone gallery, which used to be covered. However, the vaults collapsed, but the pillars and beautiful reliefs that adorn the walls of the gallery and depict scenes from the life and life of the ancient Khmers have survived.

Inside the temple complex is an intricate network of galleries and courtyards, which has become such due to the fairly frequent rebuilding of the temple.

The entrance is guarded by mighty lions made of stone with open mouths.

In front of the temple there is a wall more than four meters high depicting scenes of the great victory of Jayavarman VII over the Chams in the battle of Tonle Sap Lake.

In Bayon, it seems that someone is always watching those who come here. This feeling arises due to the many faces of the Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara. There are two hundred faces of him here, four on each tower, looking in all 4 directions of the world. Jayavarman VII himself served as a model for the sculptors.

Arrangement of the temple complex

The bayon resembles a three-tiered pyramid with two square lower tiers and a round third tier containing the central sanctuary. Initially, the central tower hadgold coating, but it was torn off by the Siamese who captured the city. A four-meter figure of Buddha was located on it, but it was also destroyed. The three tiers represent earth, water and air.

Tiers are a very intricate system of galleries and courtyards. More than a thousand images of celestial dancers - apsaras - are carved along the walls. The outer dimensions of the lowest tier are 140 by 160 meters with a height of more than four meters. There are numerous unique bas-reliefs here. They depict apsaras and scenes of the military and civilian life of King Jayavarman and ordinary people.

The second tier of the Bayon temple is also square, but smaller and with four small courtyards at the corners. One of the towers has a statue of Buddha. Her bas-reliefs are decorated with scenes of religious and mythological themes.

The third tier can be reached by steep stairs. There is an upper terrace, three libraries (west, north, east) and towers. In the very middle there is a central tower with a height of 43 meters and a base diameter of 25 m. Inside it is divided into sanctuary rooms, in which there were Buddhist and Hindu deities. At the heart of the main tower is the most sacred place with a diameter of five meters.

Unique faces

The towers of the Bayon temple are one of a kind, nowhere else is there such a man-made masterpiece. There used to be 54 towers representing the Khmer provinces. Only 37 have survived to this day. The central tower denotes the king and his unlimited power.

Each of them is engraved with4 human faces looking at different sides of the world. The divine faces are huge and were once covered with gold, like the whole tower. Now more than two hundred faces under two meters high have been preserved. All faces are unique, but very similar to each other.

There are hypotheses explaining the origin and purpose of faces. According to the first, the faces symbolize the Buddhist deity of infinite compassion Avalokiteshvara. Others believe that they personify the royal power of Jayavarman VII, extending over the 54 provinces subject to him.

An interesting fact is that at least five stone faces are visible anywhere in the temple. The expressions of all these faces change depending on the lighting and the time of day: they can look good or evil, sad or smiling.

Characteristic features of the faces are a wide forehead, lowered eyes, thick lips with slightly raised corners - the famous "Angkor smile".

Interesting facts

At a glance, the temple seems simple, but when you get acquainted with the intricate courtyards and labyrinths, it becomes clear that this is not so.
The era of the reign of King Jayavarman VII is called by historians the "era of Bayon".
The temple is not protected by a protective wall, unlike similar shrines.
The facial features of the Buddha statue that adorned the central tower are similar to King Jayavarman VII.
There used to be a lot of treasure hunters in Bayonne. There is a legend that under the temple there is a mine going to the center of the Earth, which contains untold riches.
Toto take a beautiful photo of the Bayon temple in Cambodia, travelers are advised to arrive early in the morning or at sunset. At this time, the faces on the towers, gradually illuminated by the rays of the sun, seem to come to life. In addition, during the day there are many tourists and it is much more difficult to choose a good place.

Reviews

Tourists leave a lot of positive and admiring reviews of the Bayon Temple in Cambodia. Many people visit this place more than once, returning there again. Travelers note the mystery, originality and special atmosphere of the temple complex. Some compare the faces on the Bayon towers to the stone giants of Easter Island.

How to get there?

The temple is located a few kilometers from Siem Reap, a large and famous city in Cambodia with an international airport, which is convenient for tourists.

You can get to Bayon with a tour, taxi or tuk-tuk.

The center can be reached by 4 roads. From the gates of the ancient city to the temple - about 1.5 kilometers, so they ride on motorbikes or bicycles. There is also an "elephant trail" where tourists can ride elephants to the temple through the East Gate.

Thus, the Bayon temple is a grandiose and unique masterpiece of world significance. The art of the era of King Jayavarman VII reached an unprecedented dawn and is referred to in history as the era of Bayon. After this period, not a single temple was built in Cambodia, even remotely resembling Bayon. Thousands of tourists come to Cambodia every year to get in touch withthe secrets of the most mysterious country in the world, including the Bayon Temple.