PREAH KHAN

Preah Khan, one of the site's largest temples, literally meaning "sacred sword", this vast religious complex was built after King Jayavarman VII's victory over the Chams in 1191. Home to temples, a Buddhist university and a monastery (among others), Preah Khan was above all the victorious ruler's capital for the time it took to build his most famous and enduring work: Angkor Thom. Whereas Ta Prohm is dedicated to the monarch's mother, this one is dedicated to his father. Thanks to the stele celebrating the founding of this holy site, archaeologists have been able to gather a wealth of information. They estimate that almost 100,000 people lived on the Preah Khan site, including 1,000 dancers and 1,000 teachers. Whether entering from the east or west, visitors are greeted by a long line of sandstone lotus flowers, once bearing representations of Buddha that were burnt, along with all those in the temple, by iconoclasts during a return to Shivaism. The entrance pavilions were probably sanctuaries. Our description of the visit starts at the east gate, where we find the landing stage on the west bank of the Jayatataka, the huge body of water with Neak Pean at its center. The latter was once used as a lock to control the water level of the Eastern Baray. On the surrounding wall, a frieze of Garuda gripping Naga (one every 50 metres) stands out, even if much of it has been ravaged by vegetation. Henri Marchal, who cleared the temple in the late 1930s, wished to leave some of the vegetation in place, including the imposing cheese trees that defy gravity by growing on the surrounding walls. Restorations carried out in the following decades and up to the present day attempt to preserve this balance between invasive vegetation and human constructions. Before the sanctuary, in the eastern part of the temple, the dancers' hall is decorated with sumptuous apsaras. Just to the north, a two-storey building continues to intrigue specialists: the current hypothesis is that it was a rice granary. To be continued... Once inside the sanctuary, a vast labyrinth of galleries and open spaces, stop at the stupa, perfectly aligned to the east: the sun shines on its summit every morning. Around the sanctuary, numerous bas-reliefs evoke the daily life of the university. Allow a good hour to walk around the site.