Monks walking
down the street in Phnom Penh. Traditionally, all Cambodian males would
spend at least some time in their life as a monk.Cambodia, May 2004
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is home to Cambodia's royal palace, along with the Tuol Sleng torture center of the Khmer Rouge. I did not take pictures in Tuol Sleng as it seemed disrespectful to the people tortured and killed there to do so.
Monks walking
down the street in Phnom Penh. Traditionally, all Cambodian males would
spend at least some time in their life as a monk.
National Museum. The highly sloped roofs are designed to let tropical rains flow
off.
Several shots of the Royal Palace
Detail of
a doorway in the royal palace
Still in the royal palace, the royal dancers' practice hall. The sides are open
to help the dancers stay cool.
Part of the Ramayana murals in the royal palace. The Ramayana is a Hindu epic
popular throughout much of Asia. Here are divinities floating in the sky.
Part of a famous scene in the Ramayana when the monkey God Hanuman throws
himself between India and Sri Lanka to serve as a bridge for Rama's army. Rama's
beloved, Sita, has been kidnapped by the demon Ravenna and taken to Lanka.
Siem Reap/Angkor
No trip to Cambodia is complete without a visit to the ancient capital of Angkor. Angkor Wat and a number of other temples and town ruins can be seen. Particularly famous are the apsaras, heavenly female divinities which are a signature feature of carving at Angkor. Angkor is truly a wonder, with its size and scale, its delicate carvings, and its cosmological/religious significance. The ancient empire which produced such a collection of temples must have been something indeed!
Angkor Wat, front view
Angkor Apsara
Churning the Milk, sample of Angkor carvings
Battle scene, Angkor carving. This one is shiny from all the human fingers that
have touched it over the years. We leave our oils behind with even the most
innocuous touch.
Suryavarman, one of Angkor's great kings
Bayon Temple, apsara, detail
Bayon,
famed for its 200 serene carved faces. These may be representations of
Avalokitesvara, carved in the likeness of Cambodia's king, Jayavarman.
Temple of Ta
Prohm, where the trees appear to grow out of the stones
Ta Prohm
My
husband negotiating for a book in the old market in Siem Reap