Saturday, July 12, 2008

The most beautiful carvings

Here comes the last one on Cambodia, and a long-overdue one.

A bit of history about Banteay Srei Temple first, just to refresh our memory. " 'Banteay Srei' (Citadel of Women) is the modern name of which was originally called "Tribhuvanamahesvara" (Great Lord of the Threefold World), an appellation of the god Siva. Consecrated in 967A.D., Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to a courtier named Yajnavaraha, who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman." (will offer $5 to whoever can pronounce all these names correctly)


Due to its relatively remote location, 25km north to the main group of Angkor temples, we made a separate trip to Banteay Srei. (no, it was not a typo, 25km in Cambodia is a long way to go)

We have long heard, during our stay in Siem Reap, that Banteay Srei is famous for its intricate, beautiful carvings, and it's definitely right. Amazing details!!!


Before we left the temple, I spotted this lovely girl sitting by the doorway. She looked so happy and contented playing with that plastic bottle, paying little attention to tourists passing by -- a reminder to us city dwellers: hapiness is to treasure what one has, often the simplest things in life.


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