Wolfgang's photos with the keyword: Angkor Wat

The size of the monuments makes it look overwhelming when one encounters it for the first time. The following was one of the suggested plan we got to explore Angkor Wat. We entered through the west entrance. When we reached the entry tower, we walked to the right to get a glimpse of all the five towering gopuras.

Who are the ancient Khmer Goddesses of Angkor Wat? Meet the women of Angkor Wat (and other Khmer temples) face to face. Apsaras are so beautiful, supernatural female beings. They are youthful and elegant, and superb in the art of looking.

Memory snap shoot out the arcades from the first level in the Angkor Wat.

After we climbed up the stairs, we finally arrived at the top level. Here we were able to enjoy some really great views, because we were now 50 meters from the ground. The only stone used by Angkorian builders was sandstone, obtained from the Kulen mountains 35 km far away. Since its obtainment was considerably more expensive than that of brick, sandstone only gradually came into use, and at first was used for particular elements such as door frames.

Visitors to Angkor Wat take away varied impressions of these amazing temples. Some gain insight into Buddhism or archaeology, and some relate their experience as connecting with the spiritual energy of the temples.

The cloisters, a Khmer architectural invention, connect the galleries of the 1st & 2nd levels.

Some of the steps to the higher level are closed now. The first time we came in 1996 we climbed the steep steps without an handrail at the side. The visitors should have no fear of heights.

The most sacred level of Angkor Wat is called the "Bakan" in Khmer.

This building on the left side of the causeway was restored by the Japanese Permanent Delegation in 1999 and is now in beautiful condition. When I came the first time to visit Angkor it looked like a heap of rubbles. Structures conventionally known as "libraries" are a common feature of Khmer temple architecture, but their true purpose remains unknown.

This library is one of the four in the complex of Angkor Wat. After entering the complex trough the entry tower we passed a library building on the left and one on the right side in excellent condition after a renovation from the Japanese Delegation. Most likely the library functioned broadly as a religious shrine rather than strictly as repositories of manuscripts. Freestanding buildings, they were normally placed in pairs on either side of the entrance to an enclosure, opening to the west.

At the Angkor Wat Complex there are two types of females represented Apsaras and Devatas. The former are always dancing or poised ready to dance and the latter are standing still and facing forward in their role as temple guardians.

This angle is standing still and facing forward in their role as temple guardians.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 km long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. Angkor Wat is the centerpiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor.

The first gallery has square pillars on the outer side and a closed wall on the inner side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the closed wall is decorated with dancing figures. The outside of the inner wall is decorated with pillared windows, apsaras (heavenly nymphs), and dancing male figures on prancing animals. Apsaras are found on the walls of all galleries.

Three galleries with vaulting supported on columns lead from the three western portals to the second stage. They are connected by a transverse gallery, thus forming four square basins.

For visiting Angkor Wat and of its terrain you need three to four hours. A rest in the shade next to eight hundred years old sandstone reliefs.

According to Hindu legend the “elixir of immortality” was lost in the mythological Ocean of Milk and the gods went looking for it. It is said that these goddesses were born from the ocean of milk; water nymphs that were pulled from the ocean by the Hindu Devas (gods); Visuki, the god of serpents and a group of morally corrupt demons, the Asuras.