NEAK PEAN
Small temple built by Jayavarman VII in the century with a dry baray. The basins are filled with water at the end of the rainy season.
Built by Jayavarman VII in the middle of the 12th century, this small temple was once at the center of the Jayatataka baray, then attached to the Preah Khan complex. The baray, now almost dried up, looks like a swamp with its shallow stagnant water and prolific vegetation. The farmers of the region come to make their buffaloes drink. Neak Pean means "the temple of the entangled Nâgas". In the center of this complex were four basins, arranged around a central basin and communicating with each other by pipes ending in gargoyles located in small chapels (north: elephant, east: man, south: lion, west: horse). Henri Marchal cleared it in the early 1920s. Until 1935, the central temple was entirely covered by an enormous ficus. It was a storm that toppled it, destroying the whole. M. Glaize then proceeded to a complete anastylosis, restoring the building to its original architectural aspect, since the temple had been modified at a time subsequent to its construction. Emerging from the basin, a sculpture representing a human cluster hanging on a horse could be identified; it is the metamorphosed Bodhisattva who abducts, in order to save them, unfortunate castaways stranded on an island inhabited by horrible female demons. Some historians believe that the temple represents Anavatapta, a mythical Himalayan lake that is supposed to cure all diseases. It is at the end of the rainy season that Neak Pean is the most beautiful because the basins are then in water.
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Members' reviews on NEAK PEAN
A ne pas manquer donc.
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Tout autour, splendide végétation sous un ciel changeant qui transporte complètement "ailleurs" , comme dans un monde parallèle.
Une fois arrivé aux bassins, l'enchantement ne nous quitte pas car
rien n'est imposant. Au centre du bassin principal, 'l'île" circulaire entourée de 2 "naga" aux queues entremêlées paraît presque fugitive...
Le lieu est très calme, apaisant, on n'a pas envie d'en partir.
On imagine bien ces princesses qui venaient y déposer leurs ors et encens.