Ta Prohm was built near the end of the 12th century at the height of the Khmer Empire. It was dedicated as a Buddhist monastery and a center for learning. What's unique about Ta Prohm is that it remains mostly in the same condition as when it was re-discovered by the French explorers in the early 20th century. Temples records recovered indicate that Ta Prohm was a very wealthy city. It was home to more than 12,000 people including over 600 dancers. In the surrounding villages over 80,000 people lived and worked which provided goods and services. The city continued to expand until almost the end of the 15th century when the Khmer empire declined. Ta Prohm as we saw it. Notice the roped off areas to avoid In the building of the temple the huge stones were placed without using any mortar. Notice the gaps between the stones and the support pieces placed After the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century the temple was abandoned and the jungle began pushing it's way through the loosened stones. There are massive tree roots intermingled with the buildings inside the temple complex. Examples of tree types include banyan trees, silk cotton and strangler fig trees. Over time there was an amazing metamorphosis and their appearance together looks as if it was choreographed. It almost looks like the tree has grabbed hold of the building This makes Ta Prohm one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of the Angkor province. It was decided during the restoration of Ta Prohm to leave it almost as it was found. However the archeologists had to make sure that no further deterioration of the temple would occur so that it would be safe for tourists to visit. Its kind of an example of poetic justice, at least to me. Man's conquest of the jungle to create a massive temple complex but when it was abandoned the jungle reclaimed it's dominance of the area. A slightly different angle of the picture above Another building in disarray. Notice the tree roots approaching it An example of some of the very intricate carving done in the stone Notice the metal supports this needed Tree roots moving in at all angles More beautiful stone carvings Several monks visiting the temple complex A huge banyan tree It's like those are huge fingers grabbing hold of the wall A popular spot for pictures under the Banyan tree Our guide Sopay told us that jewels were placed in these holes This building looked to be in fairly good condition A close up showing the detailed carving of the doorway on the left in the picture above Our local guide Sopay also told us about how popular Angelina Jolie is in Cambodia. She filmed part of the first Tomb Raider movie in Ta Prohm in 2001. At that time Cambodia was still considered a dangerous country. The communist ruling party in the 1970's known as the Khmer Rouge fell from power in late 1978 when Vietnamese troops invaded and captured Phnom Penh. The rulers fled but with the help of Thailand and China they still had influence in Cambodia. They continued to exist until 1999, so in 2001 Cambodia was still not high on anyone's travel itineraries. After filming the movie she stayed in Cambodia and actually traveled throughout the country. She became an un-official spokesperson for tourism in Cambodia and really helped to increase the countries appeal. So of course we all wanted to see the parts of the temple complex where the movie was filmed. Our group in front of the tree made famous in Tomb Raider After saying farewell to Ta Prohm some from our group went on a very relaxing boat ride in the moat at the south gate of Angkor Thom before returning to our hotel. Ah the happy couple relaxing on the water with a glass of wine He did the work while we relaxed We got to relax a little back at our hotel before going to dinner. No this wasn't our dinner, we passed by it on the way to our restaurant This was the entrance to the restaurant for our final dinner in Siem Reap As you can see we were given a wonderful dinner After dinner we returned to our hotel. Before turning in we walked around the grounds in front of the entrance a bit. We walked through this well lit path We came upon this little temple A Buddha inside this little temple All in all a very good day but it was a very long day.
Next time a Buffalo cart ride, boat ride to a Floating city on Tonle Lake and Fly to Chiangmai Thailand
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