Tag: Siem Reap

The Resiliet Khmer – Cambodia Travel Diary – 4

Kingdom of Cambodia is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand in the southwest. It spans an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles), dominated by a low-lying plain and the confluence of the Mekong river and Tonlé Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake. It is dominated by a tropical climate. Cambodia has a population of about 17 million people, the majority of which are ethnically Khmer. Its capital and most populous city is Phnom Penh, followed by Siem Reap and Battambang.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name “Kambuja. This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to Southeast Asia and undertook religious infrastructural projects throughout the region, the most famous of which is Angkor Wat.

In the 15th century, it began a decline in power until, in 1863, Cambodia became a French protectorate. Following Japanese occupation during World War II, Cambodia declared independence from France in 1953. The Vietnam War embroiled the country in civil war during the 1960s, culminating in a 1970 coup which installed the US-aligned Khmer Republic and the takeover of the communist Khmer Rouge in 1975. The Khmer Rouge ruled the country and carried out the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, until they were ousted during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Peace was restored by the 1991 Paris Peace Accords and subsequent United Nations peacekeeping mission, establishing a new constitution, holding the 1993 general election, and ending long-term insurgencies.

Agriculture remains its dominant economic sector, with growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. The official and most widely spoken language is Khmer, and the most widely practiced religion is Buddhism. The country’s culture and traditions are shaped by its Angkorean heritage and international influences over its history.

Resilience is the key for the survival of Khmer and Angkorean heritage.

Ta Prohm (Temple of Brahma) – Cambodia Travel Diary – 2

In 1186 A.D., King Jayavarman 7, embarked on a massive program of construction and public works. Rajavihara (“monastery of the king”), today known as Ta Prohm (“ancestor Brahma”), was one of the first temples founded pursuant to that program. 

Jayavarman VII constructed Rajavihara in honour of his family. The temple’s main image, representing the personification of wisdom, was modelled on the king’s mother.

The site was home to more than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), with an additional 80,000 inhabitants in the surrounding villages working to provide services and supplies. 

After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, the temple of Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries.

In 1992, UNESCO inscribing Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List, initiated the conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm as a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA).

By 2013, the ASI restored most parts of the temple complex, some of which were constructed from scratch. Wooden walkways, platforms, and roped railings were put in place around the site to protect the monument from further damages from tourists.

It is emotionally draining to see “one of the most imposing [temples] built for personification of wisdom and was dedicated to a mother, best merging with the jungle, to the point of becoming a part of it”. 

Nothing but a soulful “Subha Pantuvarali” , (a raga that stirs one’s soul, evokes grief and sorrow in the heart and focusses one towards the inner consciousness) can describe the feeling one goes through on visiting this place.

I am no exception to that when I visited this place recently.

Here is my YouTube video . Pl subscribe to my channel

https://youtu.be/3u8-Wjk0V2Q?si=mv3u8udLpgQqCDIw