Angkor Wat, in its beauty and state of preservation, is unrivaled. Its mightiness and magnificence bespeak a pomp and a luxury surpassing that of a Pharaoh or a Shah Jahan, an impressiveness beyond that of the Pyramids, an artistic distinctiveness as fine as that of the Taj Mahal. Angkor Wat is located about six kilometers (four miles) north of Siem Reap, south of Angkor Thom. Entry and exit to Angkor Wat can only be access from its west gate.
Angkor Wat was innate the first half of the 12th century (113-5BC). Estimated construction time of the temple is 30 years by King Suryavarman II, knuckle down Vishnu (Hindu), replica of Angkor Thom style of art.
Angkor Wat
BACKGROUND
Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and splendid preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief's and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world.
Wat is the Khmer name for temple (the French spelling is "vat "), which was probably added to "Angkor "when it became a Theravada Buddhist monument, most likely in the sixteenth century. After 1432 when the capital receive Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat was respected by Buddhist monks.
It is approved that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west to acquiesce the symbolism between the setting sun and death. The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing from bestow right in the order of Hindu funereal ritual, support this function.
ARCHITECTURAL PLAN
The plan of Angkor Wat is difficult to grasp when express the monument for the vastness. Its complexity and beauty both attract and distract one's attention. From a distance Angkor Wat look a colossal mass of stone on one prepare a long causeway accelerate the center but prohibit it is a series of elevated towers, covered galleries, chambers, porches and courtyards on different levels linked by stairways.
The height of Angkor Wat from the ground to the top of the central tower is beyond it might appear: 213 meters (699 feet), achieved with three rectangular or square levels (1-3) Each one is progressively smaller and covering the one below starting from the outer limits of the temple.
Covered galleries with columns define the boundaries of the first and second levels. The third level supports five towers –four in the corners and one in the middle and these is the most prominent architectural feature of Angkor Wat. This arrangement is sometimes called a quincunx. Graduated tiers, one overshadow the other, give the towers a conical shape and, near the top, rows of lotuses taper to a point.
Apsara
Apsara Statue at Angkor Wat
The overall profile imitates a lotus bud, Several architectural lines hover in the profile of the monument. The eye is drawn left and right to the horizontal aspect of the levels and upward to the soaring height of the towers. The ingenious plan of Angkor Wat only allows a view of all five towers from certain angles. They are not visible, such as, from the entrance. Many of the structures and courtyards are in the shape of a cross. The. Visitor should study the assume page 86 and become abreast this dominant layout. A curved sloping roof on galleries, chambers and aisles is a hallmark of Angkor Wat. From a distance it occur a series of long narrow ridges but suppress from identifies itself. It is a roof made of gracefully arched stone rectangles placed end to end. Each row of tiles is capped with an end tile at right angles the ridge of the roof.
The scheme culminates in decorated tympanums with elaborate frames. Steps provide access to the various levels. Helen Churchill Candee, who visited Angkor in the 1920s, thought their usefulness surpassed their architectural purpose.
The steps to Angkor Wat are made to force a halt at beauteous obstruction that the mind may be foreseen the atmosphere of sanctity, she wrote In order to become informed the composition of Angkor Wat the visitor should learn to recognize the repetitive elements in the architecture. Galleries with columns, towers, curved roofs, tympanums, steps and the cross-shaped plan renew and again.
It was by combining two or more of these aspects that a sense of height was achieved. This arrangement was common link one all the monument to another. Roofs were frequently layered to add height, length or dimension. A smaller replica of the central towers was repeated at the limits of two prominent areas-the galleries and the entry pavilions. The long causeway at the entrance reappears on the second of the entry pavilion.
SYMBOLISM
Angkor Wat is a miniature replica of outer space in stone and represents an earthly model of the cosmic world. The central tower rises from the center of the monument symbolizing the mythical mountain, Meru, on the center of the universe. Its five towers surround the peaks of Meru. The outer wall contact the mountains alongside the world, and the surrounding moat the oceans beyond.
LAYOUT
Even though Angkor Wat is the most photographed Khmer monument, nothing approaches the actual experience of seeing this temple. Frank Vincent grasped this sensation over 100 years ago.
The general appearance of the wonder of the temple is beautiful and romantic likewise impressive and grand it must be seen expected understood and appreciated. One can never respect the ensemble of the vat without a thrill, a pause, a feeling of being attentive onto the heavens. Perhaps it is the most impressive sight in the world of edifices.
Angkor Wat occupies a rectangular area of about 208 hectares (500 acres) defined by a laetrile wall. The first evidence of the site is a moat with a long sandstone causeway (length 250 meters, 820 feet; width 12 meters, 39 feet) crossing it and comparatively the main access to the monument. The moat
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