![]() It was not fully completed.Īngkor Wat is surrounded by a 190m-wide moat, which forms a giant rectangle measuring 1.5km by 1.3km. According to inscriptions, the construction of Angkor Wat involved 300,000 workers and 6000 elephants. The logistics of such an operation are mind-blowing, consuming the labor of thousands. The sandstone blocks from which Angkor Wat was built were quarried from the holy mountain of Phnom Kulen, more than 50km (31mi) away, and floated down the Siem Reap River on rafts. The seven-headed naga (mythical serpent) becomes a symbolic rainbow bridge for humankind to reach the abode of the gods. The central tower is Mount Meru, with its surrounding smaller peaks, bounded in turn by continents (the lower courtyards) and the oceans (the moat). Like the other temple-mountains of Angkor, Angkor Wat also replicates the spatial universe in miniature. Thus the visitor to Angkor Wat who walks the causeway to the main entrance and through the courtyards to the final main tower, which once contained a statue of Vishnu, is metaphorically traveling back to the first age of the creation of the universe. What does it mean?Įleanor Mannikka explains in her book Angkor Wat: Time, Space and Kingship that the spatial dimensions of Angkor Wat parallel the lengths of the four ages ( Yuga) of classical Hindu thought. Stretching around the outside of the central temple complex is an 800m-long (2624ft) series of intricate and astonishing bas-reliefs – carvings depicting historical events and stories from mythology. Visitors to Angkor Wat are struck by its imposing grandeur and, at close quarters, its fascinating decorative flourishes. Bat urine and droppings also degrade the restored carvings over time. Many of these exquisite apsaras were damaged during efforts to clean the temples with chemicals during the 1980s, but they are being restored by the teams with the German Apsara Conservation Project. Each of them is unique, and there are 37 different hairstyles for budding stylists to check out. The famed carvings of heavenly nymphs at Angkor Wat are worth taking the time to admire © Matteo Colombo / Getty Images Celestial nymphsĪngkor Wat is famous for having more than 3000 beguiling apsaras (heavenly nymphs) carved into its walls.
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