Bayon Temple

Bayon temple is in the center of the town. It options several sophisticated and exquisite bas-reliefs with scenes depicting land and naval warfare, market scenes et al. depicting the development of the temple itself. This is one of most popular locations in Siem Reap and is rich in historical pickings. It’s also quite strenuous because the tour involves several narrow corridors , and we cannot help thinking of Lara croft in “Tomb Raider” but there is no large 6-armed Brahman guardian sculpture to repel.

The two must see ancient Angkorian temples are Angkor Wat and Bayon. The large enigmatic stone faces of Bayon became some of the most iconic and recognizable features related to the traditional Khmer Kingdom and its architecture. The Bayon Temple is at the middle of the great walled city of Angkor Thom, which is at the heart of the Angkor archaeological Park.

Bayon has some fifty towers, with four immense carved faces on most of them. Each of faces are 4 meters high and oriented toward the 4 points of the compass. All of the faces have the same smile and closed eyes, making a mysterious and serene countenance, representing an omniscient state of inner peace.

There is discussion on who the faces really represent, and a few theories put forward say that they're the face of a bodhisattva, or a mix of Buddha and Jayavarman VII. Bayon was constructed as Jayavarman VII's state-temple and represents the peak of his massive architectural program.

Bayon is the bas-reliefs on the exterior walls of the lower level and on the upper level are outstanding. On the southern-wall are of scenes from an ocean battle between the Khmer and the Cham. However, it's not known if they represent the Cham battles in 1177 AD, or a later victory for the Khmer. There are fascinating and extensive carvings of scenes from daily life, including market scenes, religious rituals, cockfighting, chess games and childbearing.

Subsequently, Bayon suffered several additions and changes during reign of later kings, and on the inner walls were built at a later date under the Hindu king Jayavarman VIII. The east of the temple, the libraries, the sq. corners of the inner gallery, and parts of the upper terrace seem to be additions that weren't part of the initial structure.

Since the Bayon Temple was created in stages over years, it seems to be somewhat of a junk. But if seen from a distance, initially it can appear as if a rather formless jumble of stone, but on the inside, there's a maze of galleries. The best time for photos is at sunrise and sunset.