Angkor Wat, Siem Reap

Cambodia 2012
P001 Arriving late at Siem Reap Airport
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P002 The Bayon temple, Angkor Thom (means Great City), capital city of the Khmer empire.
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P003 The Bayon temple, built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII.
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P004 The Bayon stands at the center of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom.
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P005 The Bayon was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII's massive program of monumental construction and public works, which was also responsible for the walls and...
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P006 The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor.
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P007 The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster...
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P008 The curious smiling image, thought by many to be a portrait of Jayavarman VII himself.
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P009 The similing image has been dubbed by some the
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P010 The Bayon is surrounded by two long walls bearing an extraordinary collection of bas-relief scenes of legendary and historical events.
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P011 A total of more than 11,000 carved figures over 1.2 km of wall.
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P012 A lot of the carved figures were probably originally painted and gilded, but this has long since faded.
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P013 Fine and detail work made around 1190...
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P014 During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid 13th century, the Khmer empire reverted to Hinduism and its state temple was altered accordingly.
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P015 In later centuries, Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion, leading to still further changes, before the temple was eventually abandoned to the jungle.
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P016 There are about 200 huge stone faces belong to the bodhisattva of compassion called Avalokitesvara.
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P017 There are large and smaller towers surrounding Bayon, each with two to four faces of its own.
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P018 The upper terrace is home to the famous
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P019 Time did not bold well for the demise of the Bayon...
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P020 Women depicted standing about rather than dancing (Apsaras, divine nymphs or celestial dancing girls, are characters from Indian mythology) are more commonly...
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